


On the Dragon Side

by Zavier001



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Fluff, Other, Slow Romantic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:14:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23542168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zavier001/pseuds/Zavier001
Summary: Years before Gloria's challenge to become champion, you watched as Raihan and Leon completed theirs. There wasn't much you could do, and all you could do was watch for a while. Until Raihan had to leave for Hammerlocke permanently and gave you a very special pokemon to keep. Now, after so many years, you felt that it was time to try the challenge yourself. Not to become champion, but to prove to an old friend that you were no longer the poor stranger he met on a bridge so long ago.
Relationships: Raihan x reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 113





	1. Off to a Poor Start...

“Honey… We went over this. You can’t let your pokemon evolve. If you continue to let him grow… He’ll become too big for the apartment. You have to release him.” Murmuring, your father knelt down. Patting the Swinub on the head with a kind face, and you- as the young twelve-year-old kid you were- became rather aggravated quickly.

“Why not?! This happens every time I bring home another pokemon!” Snapping, it only broke your heart inside to know that once again you have to let go of another close friend. Your father could only sigh, and held out an open palm to you. This meant that you had to return your swinub into the ball and give it back to him.

“I’d let you have all the pokemon you want if I could… But right now, we’re just not prepared to keep such a huge pokemon at home. It would be better for the swinub to grow up in an artic environment where it can evolve into the mamoswine he could be.” Explaining, with as much gentleness as he could- your father was only met with a pokeball shoved into his hand as you ran out of the room. Crying and running to the only other room in the small place. Unknown to you, your father’s heart breaking more and more each time he had to do this to you. How could he know so much about pokemon yet not let you keep one of your own? Flopping onto the mattress that lay on the floor, soon you flung blankets around you. Your heart hurting at the fact that once again- you were losing a very close friend.

After taking a much-deserved nap, you groggily awoke to an empty apartment. Seeing that it was almost night time in the city of Motostoke, it meant that your father was at work again. Most likely shoveling coal with the Coalossals and other workers to keep the city running or another temp job for a business that would most likely fire him. Although you could never understand why. Your father was probably the hardest working person you knew… You probably owed him an apology for your outburst earlier. Even though the thoughts of having pokemon was somewhat obsessive to you- it was the culture you were in that made you feel you really needed to have some sort of major companion in your life. Pokemon were everywhere… Because of it, your father went through so many jobs because of this new Job App Rescue Centers put up so that Trainers could put pokemon to work that they didn’t use them. It was cheap, free labor that cost many people in the region of Galar their jobs… Although it wasn’t something that Chairman Rose wanted to address.

Look at the energy efficient region they were today. At the expense of their pokemon.

Bitterly looking out of your window into the slums of Motostoke, it was obvious that you couldn’t be in this tiny room much longer. Feeling a strong desire to go somewhere, but not knowing where- suddenly a beam of light came from the center of the city. A few more came to life in the almost dark sky- illuminating the dark purple sky with excitement. Your eyes widened at this, and quickly opening the window – you grabbed your shoes. Knowing you were going to have to make some tricky climbing- you also grabbed a roll of duct tape and an old escape rope that you had lovingly found in the trash can a while back. Slinging it around you, then taping up the sticky side out of your shoes- you climbed to the side of your window.

Looking down, you could see the ‘blue’ waters of Motostoke. When looked close enough, one could see the trubbish rummaging through the trash bags- looking for new friends. Or how the wheezing and their large pluming top hats sucking up the biproduct of the coalossals and the city air. Even though they were part of the ecosystem in keeping Galar a clean place to live, it was the small things that this region did to sweep under the ground… It disgusted you a bit, that these large cities didn’t want to help their lower-class economy. Sighing, as a drifloon pair drifted by. They looked at you momentarily, blinking, only to hover on by. You didn’t know if you wanted to scoff, or be angry about the fact that a ‘child stealing’ pokemon didn’t even find you _worth stealing_ in the moment. Looking up, you saw the amount of gears and pipes you had to climb. Since the trains costed money, and even using the small panels to get up to the stadiums costed pennies to help ‘keep the city running’… It was still money you didn’t have. So, climbing you went.

You jumped up pipes, and rode gears up as others used mechanisms. Grunting as you pushed yourself up another set of pipes, pidoves flew past you in a flurry. Their feathers catching you off guard, as you gasped. Holding onto your current grip tightly, you felt a couple steam pipes give way underneath your feet. Quickly you attached your rope to a sturdy place hold and with a ‘BANG’ the pipes fell into the water. Your body swung as your feet quickly planted into the brick side underneath one of the large bridges that connected the higher levels. Panting heavily, you watched below as the pipes fell into the murky depths. Wincing as you saw a couple basculin had to dodge out of the way of your mess. Murmuring an apology under your breath, you had to once again get your footing. Thankful for the duct tape that kept you in place. Finally, you reached the first level.

Gasping, you finally pulled yourself up to that bridge towards the edge of the city. One wouldn’t know it, but going down that first river from the ‘lowest’ dock of the main city led to many more slums underneath. No one knew the dip that occurred in the middle of the city, or how far inwards the city went underground. Considering that Motostoke was the newest central for a lot of underground deposits, and with Chairman Rose trying to focus his efforts on a ‘clean’ electricity to power the Region for many years… The slums lay abandoned. There were still people who lived there, only because the rent was dirt cheap. So, you weren’t surprised to start walking along that side walk to the ‘river’ that flowed into Motostoke and a bystander looked at you like you were crazy. Seeing a sweaty child come out from the fifth or sixth level of the slums buried deep into the middle of the city. You knew that you were probably covered in sweat, and coal from having to climb past many pipes… Looking behind you, you also weren’t surprised to see a small group of trubbish following you either.

Shooing them away, they scuttled. Their garbles sounding almost like giggles as they scurried away into the slums again. Most likely to rummage amongst their kind to find more potential friends. Shaking your head, looking up- the lights were so much closer… But there was so much time lost from climbing up too, as the nighttime had fallen a lot more quickly then you thought it would have. Thankful that your father’s work was nearby, hopefully you would catch him before his shift ended to catch an elevator ride back down.

Eventually, you had wandered to the upper levels of Motostoke. It never ceased to amaze you how advanced the ‘surface’ towns were. Modernized Centers, and hair stylists with clothing stands… How there were so many ‘clean’ people crowded around. Following the noise, you found yourself swept up with the plentiful of people and yet somehow got pushed to the edge of a bridge. To the right of your spot, a stadium lit up. Sitting on the ledge, you watched as people were running to the building with excitement. To what, you had no idea. All you knew was that there was so much yelling and cheering… As if some huge event was going on inside. Scoffing at the fact that you knew going in there meant money, you sat on the bridge right there. As the crowd passed eventually, you found yourself staring up at the moon. The stadium seemed to have quieted down, and the lights had shut off. Meaning whatever event happened… Was now over.

Once again, you felt that you had missed something rather important as large crowds dispersed out of the stadium. Talking about this ‘Gym Challenge’ and how that there were at least a few challengers that peaked their interests. Sighing you grabbed your rope and was about to start heading back down home, when you could hear a few people yelling down the street.

“Leon!! The hotel is this way!” Suddenly a flurry of a kid stopped in front of you. He seemed to be about your age, and with his dark lavender hair and golden eyes. It was rather hard to miss this kid. There was an aura about him that seemed to just scream… Champion. Blinking, this guy named Leon looked around him. Realizing that he… Wasn’t were he was supposed to be, another kid from the group a few feet away pushed himself through.

“Sorry! You know how I am with directions!” Calling back, Leon was talking to some sort of tall lanky kid. Black hair was slicked back into a bandana… He seemed to wear some sort of sweatshirt that fit him _really_ well. His teal eyes glowed in the dark. With a rather weird noise, you looked down to see some sort of orange lizard calling up to you. Curiously it tilted its head, as Leon scooped up the tiny dragon like creature in his arms.

“Charmander, you know we need to go back to the Inn! Let’s go. Sorry he bothered you, he’s a rather curious type.” Laughing, Leon gave you a grin. You had no idea what to say, only that you didn’t exactly know how to respond. Your mouth was left agape, as the tall kid walked over to the both of you. Closing it quickly, the other put an arm around Leon.

“Leon, stop hangin’ out with the crowd. You’ll never finish your challenge that way!” Scoffing, Leon rolled his eyes.

“Charmander was making friends Raihan. I can’t exactly just stop my directional guide from saying hello to someone that catches his eye.” Huffing, Leon was obviously trying to be polite as to were Raihan could probably care less.

“Dude. I gotta become champion somehow and you need somewhat of a fair chance to get it before I do. Come on, our challenges start tomorrow.” Dragging Leon with him, Raihan glanced back at you before returning back to the others. A group that gave you a feeling they would become fairly important… Or most likely due to the crowd that was beginning to develop around wishing them luck in their ‘challenge’. Is what you could gather.

You watched as a trapinch waddled past your feet, and walked next to Raihan chirping happily before beginning your decent back to your father’s work. There was a degree of bitterness that had begun to lay in your chest. Bitterness, envy, jealousy…

Only because you wished you could have freedom like that. For working with pokemon that was.

“You know how irresponsible that was of you?” Grumbling, your father could only sigh as you sat next to him on the train. He was covered head to toe in grime, and looked obviously tired. You could only shrug, tugging the duct tape off your shoes.

“Yeah… But lights. You know, shiny.” Shrugging, your father’s hand ruffled your hair. There was a small smirk on his face.

“If you’d like, you can start coming with me to work. Just so that you can hang around those boys as they do their challenge.” Teasing but serious at the same time, you looked up at your father’s face. Noticing that there was a bit of sadness in his eyes, but it was all that he could give you. Nodding, your father nudged you with his shoulder as the both of you sat in silence for the rest of the ride home.

So, for the next couple weeks, you rode with your father to his work. Only for you to start taking off as soon as the doors opened so that you could see what Raihan and Leon were going to do next. You would sit at that same bridge, watching the two go back and forth… Of course, watching Leon go the _other_ direction. Somehow, as you sat on that bridge, you ended up pointing Leon in the direction he needed to go. Watching the boys go back and forth between Motostoke and the other towns. Not surprised when they came back with stronger pokemon.

Each time you saw them, maybe once or twice a week, their pokemon grew. Raihan’s trapinch turn into a vibrava. Leon’s charmander becoming a charmeleon. Each time, they seemed to have more and more pokemon as well. Noticing that Leon’s team was rather… Hard hitting, and Raihan’s seemed to follow more of a theme with dragons. They would run by, say hi to the stranger sitting on the bridge, tell you about their recent wins with trainers… Then continue on their way.

It made your day, seeing them. Just how cool they were becoming, and how quickly they were growing. The only thing that didn’t grow was Leon’s sense of direction and fashion sense… For some reason as well, Raihan’s hair became more slicked back spiky wise, and his teeth somehow became pointier. It was a rather weird transformation for the two, but it was interesting to watch nonetheless.

However, as time passed on, you saw less and less of the boys. Each coming back with a strengthened team, and more badges. They would soon just simply pass through to maybe fill in an entry to something called a pokedex, or shop for more near the centers… You would find yourself sitting on the bridge staring into the city above where you lived under the moon light. Wondering what was going on with Raihan and his team… Or Leon, and if he actually _found his way_ to where he needed to go. Soon, you stopped seeing Leon all together. One day, he had mentioned about going to the big city to fight some champion and challenging the gym leaders again to earn the title. For someone your age, he seemed rather confident about the whole thing. After that day, you never saw him pass through Motostoke again. Raihan would pass through once and a while, but one day- there was a point in time where you realized he had disappeared all together as well… Most likely off to Hammerlocke or even past that into the icy mountains up to Wyndon.

So, there you sat, watching the moon slowly go by. It was now quiet, and the stadium all but abandoned at this point. Save for a few battles here and there. There was a small wind next to you, and suddenly you found yourself sitting next to Raihan. There was a grim look on his face as if there was a conversation he didn’t know how to explain… It was the same face Leon had when he mentioned he was leaving to Wyndon to face the champion. This, was probably the last time you would see him too.

“Looking so grim for someone about to go face gym leaders again.” Trying to kid, it only earned a small smirk from Raihan.

“Yeah, I guess. Dunno what I’m gonna do if I win though.” Shrugging, you gently bumped his shoulder.

“Well, thanks for coming to see me before you disappear like him.” Slyly joking, you found that Raihan didn’t really have a response for you. He looked forlorn, and that told you that Leon probably would be accomplishing something he wouldn’t be. It was a look you’ve seen on him time and time again when he would rant to you about something stupid that Leon won. That Raihan had to struggle to defeat the last few leaders, when Leon just swept through them quickly.

“Sorry, was that too insensitive?” Murmuring, it made you feel rather downcast before Raihan could only scoff a bit.

“Nah, I just need to get myself pumped up. What I’m curious is about you.” Smiling back at you, the statement caught you off guard. This was the first time he had ever taken the time to ask about something other then pokemon battles. Or your opinion on what gym leader was more popular then the other. Before you could answer, a phone hovered out of his pocket. Quick to capture a picture of the moon, and Motostoke basking in the dim moonlight. It was a rather good picture.

“Wanna swap numbers?” Asking, you could only shake your head.

“Don’t have a phone.”

“Oh… Well that sucks. I wouldn’t know what to do without this thing.” Laughing, you watched as Raihan pulled you in quickly for a selfie, and the photo was taken before you even knew what happened. Although the flash blinded you for just a minute. Blinking, you had to rub your eyes as Raihan could only smile grimly at the photo. Of course, you looked rather dumbfounded and aloof.

“I’ve never had a phone; I’d like to think you’d manage.” Shaking your head, Raihan seemed to think for just a moment before asking-

“You mentioned before you live in a small place, right?”

“I mean… Yeah. How’d you know?” Asking, it made you curious as to why Raihan would ask such a thing.

“Well, I see you going back down to the slums with what I would assume to be your father at early mornings. The slums aren’t exactly the nicest place to be.” Raihan could only explain, which in turn caused you to be silent. He could tell that he was right, but it wasn’t exactly something you bragged about. Which led him to believe, that the first time he saw you up here- you had literally _climbed_ all the way up. It wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do, considering he once had to go down to the slums to catch certain pokemon for his pokedex. Never could find you down there though, when he wanted to stop by and say hi.

“Um… Yeah.” The only response you could give, before something was put into your lap. Blinking, you held up a rather luxurious ball. It was black, with golden trimmings and the small button was glowing. You looked back at Raihan with confusion.

“You looked pretty miserable when Leon and I would come back with new pokemon to show you. Even though you would have the brightest smile on your face when you listened. So… I found you a pokemon that stays rather small. Plus, an everstone.” He explained, as your jaw basically dropped. You felt the pokeball begin to slip out of your hand due to the sudden slack, as you fumbled to hold onto it. Accidently hitting the button, the ball opened. Hitting the ledge with a clack, your eyes widened at the pokemon that unfolded in front of you.

With a swirl of light, and twinkles, a bat like creature flapped in front of you. They looked at you curiously, tilting its head. Large circular ears could pick up your heavy breathing and fast heartbeat. They could tell you were flustered, and rather… Confused.

“Is this a Noibat?” The words came out in a slow drawl, as Raihan nodded. You were surprised, that of all small pokemon to choose, this was what came to mind for him. But there was one thing that you were thoroughly confused about.

“Aren’t… Noibats supposed to be purple and grey?” Raihan nodded, as the realization slowly dawned on you. Raihan had brought you different colored pokemon before, Leon as well. Supposedly these different colored pokemon were significantly rarer than a pokemon that could be caught normally in the wild. Seeing a red zigzagoon instead of a black one made you feel as if you were staring at a completely different creature when Leon first showed you them.

So, you slowly realized that a teal, and black Noibat hovered in front of you curiously- that this pokemon that he was _trying_ to give you was in fact- a very rare coloration… It absolutely left you speechless.

“But-how-you… You can’t give me this!” Sputtering, Raihan held up his arms and turned around to stand off the bridge ledge. Noibat tilted their head again at your sputtering before landing on your knees. Even if their claws hurt a bit, you saw that one of them firmly held some sort of smooth stone in their talons.

“I can. Plus, I’m… Probably not going to see you again when I leave. So, I figured you’d give him a better home then I could. Plus, since he is a ‘shiny pokemon’ I feel he’d be safer with you. Considering I’m going to a crowded place that would do many things in order to find a shiny Noibat.” Murmuring, you blinked. Looking back down at _your_ pokemon.

“…Thank you. I have no idea how to repay you for this.”

“Eh. Just consider maybe studying pokemon one day.” Raihan gave you a small wave before beginning to slowly walk down the route to Hammerlocke. You couldn’t help but watch him as he slowly began to fade into the distance. Before completely out of sight, he gave you a quick glance back and smiled before rounding a corner.

With that… He was gone.


	2. A Legendary Encounter

  
Chapter 1: A Legendary Encounter

_-Years later-_

“…Okay. Noted. Do not attempt to approach Haxorus from behind.” Grumbling, Noir next to you could only hiss in response. Both of you sat, on the shores away from Axew’s Eye as the lake water soaked into your jeans. Luckily you were smart enough to _leave_ your belongings elsewhere, and when Noir was in the midst of Gust… With the now known roaming Haxorus roaring at the both of you- here you were. Standing somehow in one piece. Holding up a leppa berry- you tossed it in the air as Noir quickly ate it. Chewing happily, he landed on your shoulder. You chose to ignore the fact that some of the juices were getting into one of your few clean jackets at the time.

Sighing at this new predicament, and considering how long it had taken you to get ot Axew’s Eye in the first place… _And_ dry off afterwards without being caught by the population of haxorus and axews. However, you sat down on the ground as your Noibat finally flitted down to your knees. Thankfully, you held in your hand a small little disk of some sort. It had small engravings on the side that read ‘TM95 Air Slash’.

“Well, this is the last one we needed for you right? Here you go.” Smiling, you held the disk in front of Noibat who looked at it curiously. With a small glint, the disk suddenly flashed as Noir looked as if he had just learned something. Staring curiously back at your pokemon, Noibat gave a hard flap of his wings which in turn sent you flying backwards farther away from the shore.

Gasping at the sudden move used, you found that you had been shoved all the way back at the steps of Motostoke. Blinking, there was a pause before a rather heavy bat sat on your chest.

“Oof- you really love throwing me around don’t you?” Grunting, you looked up at Noibat who was grooming himself as if he was thoroughly pleased with what he had accomplished. Considering that Noir never particularly enjoyed dragon encounters anyways, it would only make sense that he would be slightly mad at you for wanting to observe Haxorus closer. This situation made you sigh, before closing your eyes.

You could hear the cries of pokemon in the Wild Area, all around you. The coldness of the grass felt good today underneath the harsh sunlight. Noibat watched you slightly relax; everything was still around you. Suddenly, Noir dug his claws into your shirt and began to screech violently. So loud that it caused your ears to ring, and your eyes flung open. Standing up quickly, you knelt with Noibat on your shoulders. His ears pointed at whoever it was that startled your pokemon.

“Oww… What a hell of a way to say hello to an old friend.” A man grumbled, as a large orange dragon seemed to totter a bit. They seemed fairly confused in the moment, as your eyes widened. With a sense of fashion that bad to think a cape went with shorts and leggings…

“Leon?” Murmuring in question, as the lavender haired man shook his head. Sticking a finger in his ears in case Noibat decided to try and weaken his enemy again. Although much couldn’t be said for the Charizard… Poor thing was now stumbling about, before finally sitting on their butt. Thoroughly confused, and rather rattled.

“Hey, you remember!” Leon shouted, making Noir tense. You could feel his claws digging through your shirt at this point. Raising your hand for him to relax, Noibat still wasn’t quite too sure about this new comer… But considering how quickly you stood back up, your pokemon could only trust that you truly knew who this seemingly very lost stranger was. You walked over quickly and pulled Charizard to their feet, as the dragon grumbled. Huffing at you, your hair was blown back and suddenly became very frizzy. Obviously, this dragon wasn’t going to forgive you any time soon. Leon removed his fingers from his ears, as he watched you silently interact with his closest companion.

Although, he was suddenly shocked when you head butted Charizard rather hard. To his shock, Charizard met your head butt rather harshly in return. Even though your forehead hurt, you felt the purr and hum that lay in their throat. Somehow, and Leon could only guess- that you greeted a Charizard they usually greet others of their kind.

“I dunno how you do it sometimes… It’s like you speak with Pokemon on a whole different level then us.” Leon could only point out, as you looked past Charizard’s wing to see that he looked rather impressed. Rolling your eyes, you looked your old friend up and down. He looked rather fit, and honestly somehow grew taller than you imagined.

“I mean… It’s not like I’ve been living with them for the last decade years you know. I’m not exactly twelve anymore.” You could only scoff as Leon shook his head. You noticed that he was beginning to look around, and glancing up at Charizard yourself- suddenly you realized that Leon was probably trying to find his way to the outpost that led back to the Slumbering Weald area… Or at least that’s what you knew it as.

“Do you… Need help finding the outpost?” Calling, Leon swirled around to look at you with a guilty face. Taking it as a ‘yes’ you could only laugh at his predicament. He watched as you went back to the shore and picked up a rather heavy looking camping set and a back pack of sorts. Hoisting the camping gear on your back and the bag around your waist- Leon couldn’t help but notice that your bag was almost full to the brim of scrolls, and note pads. Catching up to Leon easily, you stood in front of him.

“Jeez, how much stuff do you carry?” Leon asked as you could only shrug in response. Suddenly, you found your body so much lighter than usual as Charizard took off the camping gear. Hanging it off of their neck- and began to flap their wings making them hover just a bit off the ground. It seemed easy enough, and there was no denying the giant dragon from taking your things… And yet still not burning them.

“I only carry everything I own. Considering that I can’t afford an apartment of my own right now.” Explaining, Leon looked at you in shock.

“You’re telling me you’ve been homeless since I left?!” Gasping, it seemed as if you had offended the Champion with the notion that one of his ‘citizens’ was indeed living on the streets.

“Well, not since you left no. But, after my father passed- I didn’t have anything given to me. They took all the money to repay his ‘debts’ whatever they may have been. So I uh… Just have been living in the Wild Area ever since. Plus, the occasional train station once and a while.” Leon could only understand and sympathize since your voice grew slightly softer. Giving you a slap on the back, you gasped as Noibat had to let go of your shoulders and flit above as you stumbled down the hill.

“Hey! What was that for?!” Stuttering, Noibat could tell by your heart beat that the action caught you off guard. But instead of seeing if you were okay, the little traitor sat on Leon’s hat comfortably. Deciding to huff down.

“Cheer up! You’re gonna meet my brother finally!”

Your face scrunched up in confusion… Leon had family?

Indeed, Leon did. You stood in the train station to Wedgehurst, watching as the Champion was making his infamous stupid stance. Or at least in your opinion it was rather goofy, even though everyone else thought it was epic.

The whole discovering of that infamous pose was rather funny… He had his hand all sticky from one of the berries that he had tried to throw into the curry and that was the position it was stuck in. Realizing how close it resembled his Charizard at the time, and how it could look like a hand wave as well- Leon had raised his hand in the air to create his pose… Which, and you have no idea how, stuck to everything else. Suddenly, you looked at Noibat with a rather devilish grin on your face.

“I guess this is a real sticky situation we’re in huh buddy?” Laughing, you were met with wing beats to your head as Noir thoroughly did _not_ approve of your inside joke puns. It made you giggle and scoff as Leon chatted with the townsfolk, until you noticed someone finally shoving their way through the crowd.

“Lee!! I’m surprised you found your way all the here!” He called, as you had to squint to focus on the boy. He was lanky, just like his brother. Even though his hair was more of a blueberry rather than lavender… With the same spark in his eyes, no doubt this boy was Leon’s brother. But also… Lee? You never even thought to call the champion something so pet wise. You had only heard Raihan… Call him… that…

“Look at you Hop! You’ve grown… A centimeter since we last saw each other!” Leon shouted, obviously still slightly deaf from your encounter about an hour ago. You also noticed, that next to his brother was a rather cute girl too. Although you had a slight feeling, that she seemed more intimidating then she let on. Although that didn’t stop you from appreciating that cute dress and sweater combo she had going on.

“You bet I have! Lee, you remember Gloria right?” Introducing her forward, Leon looked surprised.

“Whoa, look at you! You’ve grown up really well. Let’s catch up more at home, we’ll talk more there. I have something for the both of you!” Leon smiled, as Hop beamed. Obviously very excited for whatever Leon had brought back this time. Finally getting Noir to settle on your shoulder, you leaned against the train station entrance smirking. Leon was about to leave with his family, before gasping and looking back at you.

“Give me a second I’ll catch up I promise.” Leon explained as Hop shrugged and Gloria met your eyes for two seconds. She didn’t have to really say anything to you, for you to understand that she was thoroughly concerned for Leon’s sense of direction. Which let you know that this ‘champion’ wouldn’t lose his way for a while.

Leon ran to a halt in front of you, and began fishing in his pockets. His face lit up when he found what he had been digging for. Gesturing for you to hold out your hands, raising an eyebrow at him in skepticism as you reluctantly did as he asked. Leon then put a couple coins in your hand, equivalent to at least five train rides around the region. Gingerly, you fingered the coins in your hand.

“You sure? I mean this is easily worth 1000.” Sighing, you counted the money again to be sure. Leon didn’t miss the look of frustration that settled over your face. You certainly weren’t a person of pity money, and he knew that.

“I’m sure, use it to travel back to the Wild Area. There’s a new season of challenges starting, hopefully that’ll be enough for someone to let you watch a match or two.” He murmured under his breath. Leon knew that you weren’t one for attention, and it had probably since his championship started that he had been trying to find you. There were multiple times where he offered to endorse you for the challenge. But of course, your pride had told him time and time again… That’d you would figure it out on your own.

“Leon… We’ve had this conversation before. I can’t do the challenges. Not because I don’t want to… No one’s gonna endorse some homeless bum that lives in the wild. TV isn’t gonna want to see that. People aren’t gonna want to see that.” Bitterly spitting out, you could see that he was about to interject on your arguments but he also knew that if he offered to endorse you again- you’d deny him… _Again._

“Why don’t you endorse your brother and their friend instead for me okay? They remind me of a young spirited pair that would run around in Motostoke for a while.” Winking at him, Leon hadn’t even thought to consider endorsing his brother till now. But you could also tell that there was something holding him back from considering Hop ready for the challenges.

“I’m not sure he’s ready for it. There’s something I can’t put my finger on, but Hop doesn’t seem like he could handle defeat right now.” Pondering, almost to himself, Leon put a finger on his chin thinking. You gestured behind him, to the young lady that was now staring at your conversation with Leon with a rather intense curiosity.

“Why not endorse his friend then? It was… Gloria, right?” Leon looked behind, seeing her standing there. It was obvious that she was waiting for Leon, and probably to make sure the fool didn’t lose his way on a straight and narrow path to what you could assume was his house in the distance. Although, it wouldn’t surprise you one bit, if Leon got lost to his own house. The thought brought a smile to your face. You took his shoulders and spun the champion around. Shoving him out of the train station. He stumbled down looking back at you with concern. Only to be met with a small wave of good bye from you, and Leon sighed in exasperation. Giving a small wave back. He slowly turned around and then began to run towards Gloria.

Turning around, you were about to instantly use some of the coins that Leon had given you before the train conductor stopped you. Raising a hand to you, you halted in your counting as he smiled gently.

“Don’t worry about it, Leon already paid for your trip back.” Chuckling, the conductor watched as your face turned into a glower for just a few seconds.

“If it’s already paid for, do you mind if I quickly do something in town?” You asked politely, as the conductor nodded. You realized that this would be a long shot, but you then understood that if these… Myths really existed- perhaps then maybe you could get some notes on pokemon people thought didn’t exist anymore. Setting your things behind the counter for the train conductor to watch and finally walked out of the station.

Even though the walk was quick, you found yourself standing in front of a moldy wooden gate. For some strange reason there was a wooloo rolling into the gate. Meaning that the way was closed- and judging by how hard the gate was… There was no way the wooloo was going to roll into it on their own. Glancing around, you could see Leon and his family a few blocks away. Battling with some fairly rare pokemon that even you hadn’t seen before- period. Fishing through your bag, you found a Liechi Berry and considering that the wooloo had been rolling into this gate for some times now…

You just happened to stick the berry in the gate for the wooloo to eat.

With a loud CRASH, the gate burst open as the wooloo began to roll inside. Hearing some surprise from Leon’s house you realized that you had about a minute before they came to investigate what happened. Quickly you ran inside, as Noir perched on your back- watching out for other pokemon just in case. Once you got inside the forest that was normally sealed off, it became a lot more eerie then you imagined. Fog surrounded the forested areas, as you could see that the grass was teeming with wild pokemon. You could see the wooloo still rolling past everybody to get to the deeper parts of the forest- and taking the same that the pokemon did- you found yourself avoiding a lot of wild battles and encounters.

As you progressed deeper into the forest, the fog became thicker and thicker. Finally becoming harder to see, and you whistled once to Noir. Which in turn gave a loud screech. Because of the sound waves coming from his ears, the fog dispersed. At least enough for you to see that the bridge forward that led deeper into the woods was closed off by a mountain of fallen rubble. Sighing with disappointment at your predicament, you realized that the wooloo had come to a stop before the pile of rocks.

It began to once again roll into it, bumping only a few rocks out at a time. But obviously it wasn’t going anywhere. Suddenly, you heard howling- _loud_ howling. Grabbing the wooloo, you pulled it close as it ‘beyyyed’ at you with annoyance. Shushing it quietly, you found a large tree to hid behind as the fog followed the howling. You could hear Hop’s voice not far away- and Gloria’s as well. Not surprised that the two of them were here, you began to use the surrounding trees to sneak your way past.

Looking behind you, the wooloo dropped out of your hands and began to roll away back to the entrance. In front of Hop and Gloria was a pokemon that you had only seen in books. Long hair flowing back, a sleek blue body as the howling seemed to come from them. They seemed to be covered head to toe in scars… It made you think of the pokemon of legend. It howled, as the fog suddenly grew immensely dense. Almost to the point where you couldn’t see.

Nior leapt off your back, giving small chirps for his echolocation. He looked back at you in a sense of panic at this situation. Nodding in agreement of you both needing to leave- you let Nior guide you back to the entrance. In the dense forest, you could see Leon running past you- worried for his brother obviously. You were so focused on your friend, that you fell face first into the dirt. Surprised, you gasped, looking behind you as to why you tripped. You growled in frustration.

Leon was surprised when suddenly a wooloo was thrown his direction. Seemingly out of nowhere. It hit his side with a rather hard throw, making the champion fall on his but with the pokemon safe in his lap.

Gasping, you ran outside of the woods. Stumbling along the way as Noir grabbed your shoulders to help steady you. Regaining your balance, you looked at Nior and sighed in relief. Giving your pokemon a small pat on the head, he nuzzled his nose against your hair. He was happy that you were okay, and relieved that you weren’t seriously hurt.

“It was you who broke the gate wasn’t it?” You could tell this stranger was angry, as you looked past Nior to see a rather stout woman with the same matching hair as Leon and Hop’s… Most likely his mother.

“If it was, what would you about it?” Growling, Nior perched on your shoulders- his ears quivering defensively. You were used to people blaming you for even the stupidest of things. For a split second, you watched Leon’s mother bite her lip before walking forward to you. Nior screeched in warning, as she then grabbed your face in her palms.

“That was very irresponsible of you. You could have been _seriously_ hurt.” She actually looked seriously concerned for you.

 _You know how irresponsible that was of you?_ A familiar voice scolded you inside your head.

“Yeah… But curiosity killed the cat you know.” Grumbling between your squished cheeks, Leon’s mother quickly brought you in for a hug.

“That doesn’t matter sweetie… Leon would have been very sad if you had gotten hurt.” Whispering in your ear, you could only look sad as she hugged you tightly. You could only rest your head in her shoulder numbly as Nior flitted between the two of you.

Eventually letting you go, holding you at an arms distance. Looking you over, she smiled warmly.

“You’re that friend that was on the bridge all those years ago, aren’t you? Leon told me so much about how you supported him during his challenge. Thanks for being a friend to him all these years.” You couldn’t help but look away in embarrassment. Patting your shoulder, she gave you a push along the path.

“Go, I’ll make sure no one knows it was you. Just stay out of trouble for me okay?” Nodding, you looked back over your shoulder at her before beginning to run back to the station. Considering what you just saw, how now Gloria and Hop were connected… Perhaps it was time that you did take up that challenge. It would allow you to see more of the world, and more research into that obviously legendary pokemon you had encountered in kind.

But… How?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting there! As always, thanks for reading!  
> -Zavier001


	3. Just Another Challenger

Back out into the wild area you went, rather numb inside due to the most recent encounter. You had never seen a pokemon like that, at least nothing that you hadn’t read in a library or two. Unsure of where to go from here, the coins Leon gave you felt heavy in your hand. Being the only money that you actually _had_ on you, there was honestly no surprise that truly the only desire you felt was to continue on with your studies.

Again, and again, you had denied Leon an endorsement… Suddenly you found yourself wanting one. Specifically, to have the privileges to travel the region beyond the last points before Hammerlocke. Because apparently the only people who can ‘freely’ enter the city are those with at least three badges. Most likely from the challenges, and if it meant seeing that pokemon again… If it meant seeing _new_ pokemon, you could only stand outside the outpost and wonder- how in the _hell_ were you going to be able to get anyone to sign an endorsement for a bum like you?

Feeling a sudden weight on your head, looking up your eyes met Noir’s. Blinking curiously at you, there was a small- _very small_ \- idea that fluttered into your brain. You had just enough money to go to grocery store… Maybe, you could forge just a small endorsement. Because of the challenges, that meant that any one of the gym leaders could be in Motostoke. 

With a very unnatural evil grin from you- there was suddenly a very possibly bad idea that formed in your brain. So, you set off for Motostoke- knowing that at least you could enter the city unnoticed without any formal ‘requirements’.

“So, you’ll pay me about 500 to get a signature of one of the gym leaders?” Asking innocently, you nodded happily to the little girl. She tilted her head, curious about the weird bat floating about- with a disapproving look on it’s face for some reason. You weren’t ashamed to get kids to do what you needed to do, considering that most of the time and for some odd reason- Motostoke had many kids running around the place with no parental supervision.

“That’s all I need. You see, I’m a huge fan of them, and I just feel _soooo_ awkward going up to them you know. But if you do it for me, you’ll be a bit richer and get to meet one of them as well! I see this as a win, win you know.” Explaining, at the mere factor of the little girl getting the chance to seek out a celebrity- you watched as the child took the paper from you and smiled. Beaming, and bright.

“Oh my gosh!! That would be epic!!” Singing about, the little girl ran away with your paper. Sighing, you at this point could only look up at the stadium… Hoping to whatever Pokemon Gods there were that this stupid plan would work. Wincing as a wing smacked the back of your head, Noir was obviously very angry about this whole thing.

“I know, I know. This isn’t right… But who would want to endorse someone like me? Leon is already going to get Gloria and Hop. So, he couldn’t exactly write more… Plus I highly doubt his sponsors would allow him to sign some random trash heap to be in the challenges.” Murmuring, you started walking up the city boulevard. You could hear the bells ringing throughout the city, signaling both the new coming hour and the shift change. Noting you now had about… 100 left, you used the last of it to ride of the bridge platforms up. Surprised at how smooth it was- considering that this was the first time you had used one of them. Looking both ways, you saw no one was crowding around the stadium yet… 

Seeing a very familiar bridge, you couldn’t help but walk over to it. The path was worn, from the many years that it had been traveled on. Even Nior could feel the amount of nostalgia flow over you like a river. Considering that this is where the two of you met for the first time- there was a degree of special feelings linked to this bridge. Sighing, you could only lean against it- memories of a certain trainer filling your mind.

You hadn’t seen him since he left that night.

No doubt, he was the big shot trainer that everyone loved. You’ve seen his pictures in newspapers, TV’s, and of course- battling his rival. Leon would never get tired of their battles, and no doubt- you wouldn’t either. Still having that drive to beat the ‘unbeatable’ champion and that you wouldn’t ever admit it… You would try sneaking into cafés to at least see the exhibitions and tournament matches to watch him fight… Noting that he hadn’t never broken that stupid habit of taking selfies whenever the trainer found he could.

“Miss? Here you go!” Breaking your thoughts, you looked down to see the little girl holding up the rounded paper. It seemed slightly wrinkled, as you could see she was beaming. Obviously, whatever happened- she was successful. Fishing through your pockets, you pulled out the 500 that you owed her. Taking it, she bounded off into the now suddenly surrounding crowd next to the stadium. Blinking, you hadn’t realized how long you were lost in your thoughts.

Although you were certainly surprised to see a rather tall trainer pushing his way through the crowd.

__

_ -Moments before- _

Another year, another cycle of challengers… Raihan could only look outside the train station with a look of mild boredom. Leon had texted him that there were two trainers that he had a feeling would be worth giving a shot into the challenges… Mentioning something about how the two of them reminded Leon of the rivalry they had. Sighing in content, Raihan was about to step out of the building before a few people gasped.

“Could we take a picture with you?!” They asked, crowding closely to the trainer. Smiling, Raihan could never get enough of people recognizing him like this. That people actually wanted to talk to him, even if it was because he was the strongest Gym Leader in Galar. It filled… something inside of him. Nodding, immediately his phone flung out of his pocket.

Giving his famous dragon grin, the others then did the same as the phone snapped the picture easily. They smiled, as Raihan then posted the picture to social media. Quickly the group found the photo, and thanked him for his time before walking away. As soon as they were out of eye sight, the smile faded from Raihan’s face as he then became more neutral in nature. 

Another year, another cycle of challengers…

So, when the eight gym leaders began to walk to the stadium, a natural crowd began to form around. They never blocked the way- but rather Raihan tagged behind last because that was the order the gym leaders naturally formed. He always had to show up early every year, so that way it gave time for all the gym leaders to prepare… Plus it was also an excuse for everyone to test their new teams regardless of the ceremony. As obviously, Kabu didn’t mind his stadium being used for small battles as this. Because of the fact that all eight of them had to arrive early for preparations- they all knew it was also a moment of-

“Just you wait, I’m gonna beat you this year.” Nessa grumbled, sliding over to Raihan who could only snicker in response. Even the ever creepy yet silent Alister gave a small scoff as Opal looked over her shoulder.

“Honey, I have a higher chance of beating him then you.” Grumbling, Raihan couldn’t help but laugh. She never changed, and no matter how infuriating her team got- he still was the one to come out on top.

“You do realize, that just because I am the Dragon Leader doesn’t mean that _all_ of my pokemon are Dragon types.” He snickered, Opal rolling her eyes at him. She swore that every year, this man would never learn… Nor would she grow any older.

“Thinking about throwing in the towel this year, old lady?” Whispering in her ear, Raihan had leaned down and laughed when a harsh smack from her cane landed on his head.

“For one!! I am NOT that old!! For two… I’m not sure. I might change up the trial this year to fit such a theme. Who knows.” Opal hissed at him, as Nessa could only shake her head. Raihan stood, rubbing his head where the sore spot was. He could only grin like an idiot at the notion of someone replacing this fossil.

“Opal, you’ve been a gym leader before _we_ were leaders. Don’t you think that you should look for a replacement?”

“I will look for a replacement when the time is right! Only that which can truly pull off the _perfect pink_ is when I’ll declare myself retired!” She hmphed, making Alister shake a little harder with silent laughter. Kabu stopped, waiting for them to catch up- seeing that they were making light conversation. 

“Come on, lets go! The challengers won’t wait forever for us!” He called, as they could only lightly laugh at each other. Kabu seemed to be forever running, all the time while the rest of them were always rather relaxed compared to the rather… (ahem) _fired up_ gym leader. Raihan could only shake his head at his inward pun, as just for a moment- he was reminded how much your Noibat really detested them. Although he could never understand why.

“Excuse me? Could one of you sign this for me? It would really mean a lot.” A small voice came out from the loud crowd. Catching Raihan’s attention. It was a little girl, holding out a fancy piece of paper with a pen out to the gym leaders. She seemed rather sweet, and almost beaming with excitement. Raihan gestured the others ahead as Nessa gave him a rather cautious look before continuing forward.

Kneeling down, Raihan took the pen and signed at the bottom corner of the paper. Handing it back to the little girl, she seemed almost so happy- she would faint. Though, she took it- and gave him a hug. Raihan could only smile, giving the little girl a hug back before she ran away. Standing, he watched as the child ran through the crowd… His eyes widened as he saw who the parchment was given to, on the same bridge that he swore he would return to again one day.

It… Was you. 

On that same bridge, with the same Noibat flitting around your head. You had fished through your pockets to find some sort of change to give to her. She smiled at you, before running off somewhere else. Just for a moment, time seemed to slow down. The crowd’s voices only being drowned out by the sound of his heart beat in his ears. It had been years, since he had left you on that bridge. Nessa stopped before entering the stadium seeing her good friend freeze right then and there. Following his gaze, she saw you standing on that bridge. For a split second, Nessa realized too- who you were. She wasn’t surprised at all when Raihan began to gently push his way through the crowd, being oh so polite to try and weave through the people. Even though he towered over everyone, it didn’t help that everyone also wanted to take photos with the Dragon Leader. Raihan found himself stuck, as you looked up from the parchment to see him trying his best to get to you. Nessa had to go into the crowd, because Raihan was then stuck- unable to get to where he wanted to go. Pulling his arm, she then managed to get the now starstruck trainer into the stadium.

“W-wait, there was someone I needed to say hi to.” Raihan could only huff, as the doors shut behind him. Glancing through the window- he could barely see the bridge… Only to notice that you were gone. Perhaps, the heat was driving him mad- because it certainly was warm inside the Fire Stadium as it usually was. Looking down, he could see Nessa looking just as upset at he was.

“I know Raihan… But you can’t. Not now. That crowd is ruthless, and you just dove into them. There was no way you were gonna get through them.” She murmured, stopping Raihan from pushing the door open again.

“I could’ve made it.” Raihan’s gaze was fixated where your silhouette was. Cursing himself inwardly.

This was _supposed_ to be another year. Another set of challengers.

As for you, as soon as Raihan started trudging his way through the crowd to say hello- you panicked. Inwardly, you were having a heart attack of the giant beast of man trying to push his way through the crowd in the politest way possible- you froze. Maybe you were intimidated, unable to escape, flinching- at that moment you just. Didn’t. Know. What. To. Do. Suddenly Nior grabbed your shirt and pulled you out of the way of the moving crowd. Thankfully he was still thinking clearly and saw that the crowd wasn’t going to let Raihan get any further. 

When you finally came to your senses, Nior had dragged you into the alley way. Beating his wings on your face, to hopefully get you to snap out of this funk. You had seen that set of teal eyes before, seen that trainer somewhere before… But it couldn’t have been Raihan. There was no way- after all of these years of no contact, no communication that he would have remembered you. Gasping, you had to put a hand on your chest. That was a lot of people, and seeing someone that you weren’t sure if you were ready to see in the first place start practically hunting you down…

Before you knew it, Nior had sunk his claws into your shirt and headbutted you. It certainly grabbed your attention, shaking you out of your circle of panic. Your breaths were heavy, as Nior was all but rapidly whacking your face with his wings. This wasn’t good, the last time he had seen you have this bad of a panic attack was realizing that you were going to be homeless for the rest of your life. So- the Noibat did exactly what he did last time.

He screamed in your face.

Wincing, the pitch caused your ears to ring. You had to close your eyes, and hold your ears… Which caused silence to fall over you. Nior paused in his flailing to wait and see what your reaction was. The silence made you realize just how fast your heartbeat was, and then you began to take deep breaths inward. Nior was relieved when he felt you exhale deeply, the breath making his fur move just slightly. Watching you calm down eventually, opening your eyes- your hand raised to give Nior a small pet between his ears. Making the bat purr softly.

“Thanks bud… I dunno where I’d be. But, please don’t scream again. That actually hurt a bit.” Laughing, Nior sighed in relief. Holding up the paper that was slightly crumpled in your hand, Nior moved out of the way to nestle on your shoulder happily as you unfilled the potential endorsement letter. Hopefully she had gotten at least a gym leader to sign it, even if they denied it… Then, you wouldn’t know what to do at that point. Although, you slowly slid to the ground upon opening it- realizing that indeed…

Raihan had just signed your endorsement letter.

You sat in that alley, clutching your now finished letter in your sweaty palms. Even though you had dug through your belongings to find your best clothing that… Didn’t have holes from all the pokemon battles in the wild, you couldn’t help but have a tightness in your chest. You had been listening to the stadium noises, noticing that Rahian’s pokemon were standing strong for a long time. If anything, you only heard maybe three or four of his pokemon faint. Because of the fact that you had watched maybe too many of his matches, Raihan’s team cries were now all but memorized to you. At least… Four out of six were. You realized about half way through, that the gym leaders were battling each other. Probably given the chance that the eight of them were together. It really only made sense.

A shadow crossed your vision, making you look up from your seat on the city floor. Just crossing the alley, you saw Gloria and Hop. They were chatting with each other- their endorsement letters in hand. Crisp, clean, and probably better written then your forged one. Gloria seemed rather happier then the last you saw her, and Hop looked a little worse for wear. You saw that Sobble, and Scorbunny were close behind- that it was only Sobble who stopped to look at you for just a moment. Before being called by Gloria. Standing up, you peered around the corner to see the two of them entering the stadium. The encounter made you suddenly remember why you really wanted to do this in the first place.

It was the chance of meeting new pokemon. That legendary in the forest, and now, it was your first time ever seeing a Sobble and a Scorbunny. Let alone together. Taking a deep breath, you shrugged on your gear before holding your chin up high and walked straight to the doors.

Of course, as you as you opened the doors- a wave of regret followed almost immediately. There were a lot of people in here- thankfully none of gym leaders were there. You could see Leon standing at the counter though, listening as the desk attendant explained to Gloria and Hop what their challenge would entail. They received their uniforms and were guided to the next room, Leon following close behind. Obviously excited that his little brother and his friend were going to participate in the next challenge. You took another one of those infamous breaths that did nothing to steel your nerves. Ironically, it was Nior who got frustrated of your stalling, and then took your sleeve. Beginning to drag you to the front desk.

“W-wait Nior! You don’t want to draw too much attention!” You hissed, looking around you as other trainers were in awe of the shiny Noibat dragging a nobody down the main area of the stadium to the main desk. You found yourself coming to a halt in front of the attendant, who looked at you rather confused.

“I um… I’m here to…” Stumbling over your words, Nior huffed at you. Taking the endorsement letter out of your hands to give to the attendant. Rather confused, he picked up the now rather crumpled parchment and opened it with a lot of crinkling. Sure enough, it looked official to him- although it was surprising to see Raihan’s signature at the bottom of the paper.

“Hold on just a minute, I’ve got to officiate this. There’s been a lot of scams lately to get into the challenges. Just making sure okay?” He asked, as you nodded. Your gut sank as the attendant left the front desk and took a turn into the stadium… No doubt where the other gym leaders were waiting.

“That’s the last time I ever go up against you! Why can’t you just take it easy?!” Nessa was certainly flustered again, at her consecutive loss to Raihan. He was laying on the bench in the main locker room, scrolling through his phone at the selfies of the wins. And of course, as usual… The loss to Leon. Smiling at the good pictures- each with the gym leader he won against Raihan posted them to his profile again. Each photo gaining many likes and comments in the matter of seconds.

“Well, maybe if you trained up your team, and stopped using the same Dreadnaw… You’d have a better chance then Opal. She was right earlier you know.” Scoffing, Raihan looked past his phone to see Nessa ruffling her hair in frustration. Allister slinked over next to him and tilted his head.

“You… Shouldn’t be so… Mean.” He whispered, just barely audible behind the mask as Raihan shrugged.

“She had it coming, and you know it.” Sitting up, Raihan scooted over to make some room for the young Gym Leader. He sat down rather promptly, his arms dangling. No doubt the spooky kid was slightly tired from keeping his airs up.

“Still… Not nice.” Allister murmured, Raihan just about to respond before the door opened. One of the official trainer escorts, particularly the one from the front desk, came through. He was holding a rather familiar looking paper in his hands.

“Sorry to interrupt sir, but I had to make sure that this was valid.” He announced, drawing the attention of the rest of the gym leaders. Nessa calmed down for just a moment to notice that indeed, there was an endorsement letter being handed to the least expected Gym Leader. She looked over his shoulder, to see a rather well forged document. Nessa also realized that his was the same paper that the little girl had Raihan sign earlier. Which was a rather weird coincidence in her book.

Raihan on the other hand, knew exactly where this came from. It made his breath hitch, and memories of you flashed through his head rapidly. All the way to the point of seeing you standing on that bridge… Taking this ‘endorsement letter’ from that little girl.

“Shall I turn her away sir? It’s obviously a fake.” The trainer took it out of his hands, before Raihan had time to respond. Thus, he stood in a bit of a panic to the trainer’s sharpness.

“No! No. It’s alright. Let her in. I endorsed her… She doesn’t have much, so it’s not going to look as official as the others.” Raihan quickly had to recover, as the trainer nodded his head before leaving. Sighing, Raihan could only shake his head in disappointment in what he just did. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Nessa slowly came next to him. He was about to say something before even Leon was in front of him.

“Was that her?” He could only ask, as Raihan could only groan in response. Making a large grin form on Leon’s face. They both knew who ‘her’ was. Nessa knew, and so did most of the Gym Leaders. Only because they watched the two rivals make company with a poor child from the slums from Motostoke. You were a mystery to everyone, yet known just enough to be understanding as to why the two most powerful trainers in Galar were okay with letting someone like you through.

“Yeah…. That was her.”


	4. Calm Before the Storm

“Well, sorry about that. Raihan confirmed your endorsement, surprised he wasn’t out here to greet you though… Although, I shouldn’t be concerned. You’re the first person to actually show for his endorsement.” Fumbling through the desk, your eyes widened upon hearing the news. Inwardly, you were so very happy that an old friend was willing to help you travel. Even though, there were doubts that Raihan really had let you through because of being an old friend.

You weren’t even sure if he remembered who you were.

“It’s alright. Thanks for checking anyways.” Once again you fumbled over your words, only for the desk attendant to give a bit of a ‘humph’.

“Huh, that’s annoying.”

“What is?” You could only ask, as Noir flitted about the desk. Curious about everything and anything as usual.

“I’m out of uniforms… Would you mind waiting in the lobby until I can find some?” The desk attendant asked, you glanced at Noir. He flew behind the desk when the attendant was talking to you and your bat’s face said it all.

“Yeah sure, I don’t mind.” Shrugging, you picked up your stuff and took a seat away from the crowd. Noir was fuming, as he rightfully should be. He sat on your lap- his claws digging into your knees in annoyance.

“Let me guess, he had some behind the desk. Didn’t he?” You whispered to your closest friend, in which Noir responded with a huff. Thus, you truly weren’t surprised about this. He knew your endorsement letter was a fake, and Raihan had approved it sure… But it didn’t mean that the staff wouldn’t give you a hard time. You could only scoff at this notion, as Noir’s neck fur quivered in anger.

“Hey, watch it… Your claws do hurt after a while.” Grunting, your fingers tenderly lifted each claw out of your pants. Suddenly the stadium erupted into cheering and yelling. Looking up- you saw on the TV screen that the challengers were in their uniforms and standing in the stadium field as the Chairman was announcing this year’s participants. Rolling your eyes at this, you began to go through your belongings. Surly there was some sort of guide you may have stolen or taken from a library that would tell you where the next gym would lead.

Hearing the stadium light up again, you glanced up. Of course, it made you stop for just a moment as Raihan was the last Gym Leader to walk onto the field. In all of his pride, and glory- Raihan basically screamed confidence. Even though his walk was rather lax, and his face relaxed in all sense… You could see it; he was actually happy for once. Excited you would say.

It confused you, to see his happy smile suddenly dim just in the slightest. He was in the back, away from the Gym Leaders as you figured he would be. Considering that he was the second-best trainer, Raihan was in his own league. Right up there with Leon. You were actually becoming concerned when he looked like he was searching for something. You didn’t miss that look between Leon and Raihan… They were concerned about something; you were fairly sure due to the fact of the desk attendant not letting you into the ceremony… That you were sitting here. There was a small flash of anger in Raihan’s face, but because of the fact that he was on TV Raihan’s smile never faded. Leon could agree to this, you watched their silent conversation about this whole ordeal. Internally, it made you smile just a bit. But, it also meant that those two were letting their personal bias get in the way of other challengers and that you knew wouldn’t be good. The last thing you needed was those two giving you special attention over the rest of the participants… Even if you were one. Although, you already knew that Leon would follow Hop and Gloria around during their challenge to give them pointers. Plus some ‘good luck’ send offs . At that point, all that you could do is stand up and gather your belongings.

They made it very clear, that you didn’t belong here.

_During the Ceremony_

Raihan was then pacing back and forth. Going through his thoughts of everything he could possibly say to you in a way that wouldn’t make him look like an asshole. He couldn’t even think of where to begin, considering that the two of you haven’t spoken in almost seven or even eight years. There were many things that Raihan wanted to say, to talk about Hammerlocke, and how he really did become the trainer that you said he would be. Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted when the horns blared in the stadium. He could hear the crowd, as a sudden chill went through his body. It wasn’t a bad thing; it was a more or so reaction to the sheer adrenaline from being in front of thousands of people. The chill made him focus, made him aware… Most of all, it made Raihan really happy to hear people cheering for him. Greeting fans, and taking pictures with them was something that would never get old to Raihan. Warmth filled his chest, as Raihan put his famous dragon smile on as Melony walked out into the pitch. So, he was next to follow… As usual.

When the bright lights beamed on him, the crowd began to bellow in excitement. Calling his name, and Leon’s. Giving a wave, and then his phone came out to take a picture of the crowd- Raihan then took his place amongst the Leaders. The crowd began to freak out as Leon walked out from the pitch, as the Champion walked forward to greet the new challengers.

Raihan scanned over the participants, looking for a certain someone. To his surprise… You weren’t in the line-up. He could see Gloria, and Hop- there was no way he would miss Leon’s little brother- but yet he couldn’t see the mess that you usually were in crowds. You weren’t here. Period. When Chairman Rose stepped in to wish the challengers luck, Leon looked back at him in confusion. Raihan met it back, with a look of annoyance and rather a slight petty bitterness. Something wasn’t right here, and he didn’t know who was involved in the mess. You had every right to be here just as every participant in that line up.

The ceremony had just barely finished before Raihan was storming out the door. His long legs practically throwing him into the lobby. Leon actually had to run to keep up with his friend, and Nessa was trailing behind. Mainly because she didn’t want Raihan to get in some sort of public eye trouble again. It took a long time to build up his reputation for actually being a good trainer, and a good person. She didn’t want to see it ruined just because of a stranger they were acquaintances with years ago.

Surprised, Raihan stopped at the exit to the stadium lobby. You weren’t anywhere to be found either, not Noir or any sort of trail leading to where you may have scurried off to. Leon came to a halt next to him, just as confused as Raihan was. But if there was one thing you were always reliable for- it was disappearing at the most inconvenient of times. Taking slow steps, Raihan observed the area before noticing that some fans from earlier had come into the stadium coughing.

“Aw man, I got sand in my shoes!” One of the girls complained, taking off their slip-on shoes as some sand came pouring out. The other was shaking their hair.

“At least you can get rid of it, I got sand in my hair! What kind of crazy person would be in the middle of a sandstorm trying to fight a haxorus?!” She whined, particles coming out. Raihan looked outside of Motostoke, and indeed… There was some sort of a massive sandstorm right at the entrance.

“Whatever that crazy lady was doing. I hope she knows that a Noibat won’t stand up to a beast like that.” The other finally managed to get their shoes back on. Raihan’s face changed from his natural smile to a rather concerned looking frown.

“She seemed to know what she was doing… I mean, dragon against dragon is a super effective set.” With that piece of information, Raihan finally determined what he needed to do. Particularly quickly before you got yourself killed. Nessa gave a small tug on his sweatshirt.

“Be careful, don’t do anything stupid again okay?” She warned, as Raihan nodded. Pulling up his hood, he stepped out of the stadium and began running in the direction of the sandstorm.

Where as _you_ were pissed. Beyond pissed, and rightfully so. So much so, anger began to boil your blood and Noir could only fly as fast as his little wings would allow him to as you all but ran to the Wild Area again. You knew that there would be bias to slum trash, you knew that everything wouldn’t be as smooth. But right now, you needed to look into getting a team. However, you also needed to blow some hardcore steam out of your system. Noir knew it, and even the poor bat was preparing for whatever it was you wanted him to beat the living hell out of.

It was a bad habit of yours, making Noir beat up on stronger pokemon and work on your battle skills as a pair. Not that he didn’t enjoy it though, considering that they were now in the middle of some sort of sandstorm. He could see the little nicks on your skin from the rocks flying about. You didn’t care in that moment. All that really mattered was that there was now a Bewear in front of you in the Dappled Grove. It was wandering about, aimlessly but you both knew that the moment it saw an opponent that the fight wouldn’t be easy.

With a short single whistle, Noir immediately launched into action. He dashed forward with his wings, halting just a few feet before the Bewear. Who now was on guard, and even though they were level matched… Noir still didn’t quite know what you wanted to do next. Hearing two sharp whistles consecutively, Noir let out a long high-pitched Screech . The Bewear stumbled backwards before beginning to flail rather harshly. It swung its arms outward, trying to hit Noir with all it’s might. The bat knew that taking one of those resulted in enduring a Brutal Swing, and when the Bewear finished wearing itself out, he heard four long whistles. Feeling the energy build up inside of him, Noir let loose his favorited move ‘Dark Pulse’ as it swept over the area. Hitting the Bewear for a good chunk of health, he could see the pokemon beginning to totter and stumble. Meaning that it was close to fainting.

You were about to give one more command to make the Bewear faint, before suddenly a giant sky scrapper looking pokemon full on _ran_ into the Bewear. Sending the stuffed bear flying across the field. Eventually the pokemon skidded to a halt with more than a few feet between you and Noir. It went to stand back up before finally admitting defeat, passing out on the floor. Hearing the clinking and grinding of the scales on the dragon type- you gave a sharp whistle as Noir quickly flew back to your side. The Duraludon seemed rather annoyed, even though the sandstorm clinked off its metallic body with no trouble. Noir had to shake more sand out of his hair, as you held up an Oran berry to him. Taking it gratefully, he munched on it with eagerness. Perching on your shoulder, Noir’s ears quivered. You looked up, to see his head turning in the direction of the Duraludon.

Someone was there.

“Don’t you think this is a little reckless?!” A familiar voice called, as you once again froze. Noir could hear your heart pounding hard. So just like last time, he grabbed your shirt and pulled you behind a tree in the tall grass. He knew that there were a few metapods in the grass but honestly right now you were his concern.

“This is a sandstorm! Noir’s going to be taking natural damage! Unless you have an endless supply of oran berries, you’d better get out of here!” Raihan called, he couldn’t quite see into the forest- but he wouldn’t miss that small high pitched sound that Noir used constantly to locate things in low vision areas. You, on the other hand, were confused. Why would he know about Noir? Why would he remember who you were, and same with Noir? Although, you couldn’t stay in your thoughts too long as Noir realized that he knew this ‘stranger’.

Raihan, was the asshole who first caught him and took him away from everything.

With no warning, and no control, you watched as Noir went into an almost flurry state. The bat all but _divebombed_ for the trainer. Raihan could hear the whistle getting closer, meaning that Noir for sure- remembered who he was. Suddenly out of nowhere, you came flying out of the storm- past Duraludon and grabbed Noir just mere inches away from his face. You were holding onto his feet, as the bat was furiously flying as fast as his tiny body could to Raihan. Noir was _angry_ at him, and while you knew why- it was still weird to see a usually level headed pokemon get so mad at someone.

“Noir! Noir, don’t you dare!” You yelled, feeling your shoes losing grip. Having to let go of one foot, you were almost swept off the ground as Raihan had to take a couple steps back. Even though he gave a rather taunting grin, showing off his canines at the min-dragon bat- he wasn’t at all intimidated by the Noibat who was very determined to give Raihan a piece of his mind.

With a flash, Noir was pulled back into a pokeball. The same one he gave you years ago. So, with no choice there you were. In front of Raihan, in a sandstorm… A pokeball mere inches from his face, and you could easily see those damn teal eyes past it staring down at you with a rather mild amusement. You pulled back Noir, as you could feel the ball rattling in your hand. Whatever Raihan had done to Noir in the past, it certainly sparked enough fight in him to make it felt through a strong containment field.

“It’s been a while.” Hands on his hips, Raihan was beaming. A big ol’ grin on his face, staring down at the disheveled old friend that was you. He didn’t miss the small nicks on your skin either, you had been in this sandstorm for a while. Judging by how chapped your lips looks, there were probably piles of pokemon resting somewhere. Each with an oran berry for their troubles. You, on the other hand, didn’t know what to say. Blinking, you were suddenly very aware of the sand that hit your face constantly. No doubt, making you look like a mess… Again.

“Why is it, whenever we meet- I’m a mess?” Grumbling, you crossed your arms in a rather childish pout. Raihan laughed at your misery as he extended his hand. A Ultra Ball formed from a click, it opened as the Duraludon began trudging over and disappeared in a flash. You watched as Raihan carefully put away his pokemon, before gesturing you back to Motostoke.

“Do you wanna get out of here? I mean… I’m cool to stay. Considering most of my battles have some sort of weather effect going on.” Raihan shrugged, as you looked around you. It was silent, and the wind howling certainly didn’t make you feel any better about this. Sighing in defeat, you nodded your head at him. So, that was how you and Raihan began to slowly walk back to Motostoke.

“You’re lucky I knew that it was your endorsement letter. You do realize that you could have been arrested for forgery, right?” He couldn’t help but point out, causing you to wince outwardly. You… Knew. You knew all of the consequences that would come if Raihan _didn’t remember_ who you were.

“How’d you know it was me?” Asking sheepishly, you were shaking your hair out at this point since the sandstorm was now behind you. The grime, and sand didn’t bother you one bit. Although, you did have to fish through your pockets for some chap stick and apply it to your now bleeding lips. Not realizing just how long you had been in the sandstorm, you then questioned why it was so dark then when you went into the storm in the first place… Was it night time already?

“I saw you, on the bridge.” Raihan stopped for just a moment, catching you in the middle of tending to your poor lips. Having to finish quickly, you coughed before putting the ointment away.

“O-oh… I didn’t see you. W-Weird.” Huffing, rather guiltily - you looked up at him. Raihan actually looked rather sad, because he knew that you saw him… But you were choosing not to admit it. Had the two of you really grown that far apart?

“…Alright then. What say you, and we get you actually set up for the challenges huh?” He suggested, as you nodded silently. You were surprised when his hand began to ruffle your hair, and you were also surprised… That you secretly enjoyed it.

“Yes please… I need one of those uniforms. The desk attendant lied.” Murmuring, Raihan could only shake his head as he put his hands back in his pockets. The moon was now out, and before you knew it- both of you reached the gates that led to Motostoke…

Only to realize that they had closed it, meaning that the two of you were now locked out of the city.

“Well… That puts a damper in a lot of plans. I forgot that the major established a curfew since there had been so many people from the slums trying to sneak back in without pay.” Huffing, Raihan was confused. He had never encountered this problem before. Usually all towns were open to him, regardless of what time of day it was. He’s gotten into Motostoke before, after a late-night hailstorm around 1AM. You were beginning to walk away before you heard a call from the guards.

“Raihan! Did you get caught in a storm again?! Let us open the Gates for you no problem!” Raihan responded with a wave of his hand. With a couple loud crashes- and perhaps a couple more loud swears that weren’t meant to be heard- the gates to Motostoke began to creek open. With the guard standing in the middle, waiting for him. You were baffled. The guards never treated you that nicely, usually they wanted some sort of bribe to get into the city and if you had nothing to give… Usually it meant that you were sleeping outside that night. Stepping up next to Raihan as the two of you walked up the steps to the city- Raihan walked past the guard, looking back for you only to realize you were gone. Again.

“How many times do we have to do this? You know slum people have a curfew and if you don’t make it by then- you’re locked outside.” Gruff, the guard had grabbed your arm rather roughly. You stood still, knowing that the guard would love to beat you up and throw you out of the city. But his beloved Gym Leader was here, and that was an image that he _obviously_ didn’t want to tarnish.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought I was a guest of Raihan; therefore, I would be allowed in the city.” Slyly responding with a smirk, a frown formed on the guard’s face. Before he knew it, there was a man towering above him. Looking up, it was the menacing face of a very disappointed Raihan.

“Come on man, let her go. She’s a challenger. She can come and go as she pleases.” Explaining shortly, the guard let go of your arm. Glaring at you, he scoffed before turning on his heel.

“Dunno how you managed to become a challenger with the amount of trouble you cause.” He spat at you before heading back to his post. Your face became a small glower as you began to trudge forward. A bit angrier than you meant to, because Raihan was then able to start taking full steps to be able to keep up with you.

“Does he do that often?” Curious, you looked up at your friend.

“You know what this city does to the slum trash.” You grumbled in response, making Raihan shake his head. He knew, he’d seen you and your father take that elevator with so much hassle from the city dwellers. Both of you got onto the gear platform as Raihan put in the 100 to make the lift raise. There wasn’t much Raihan could say to that. Although, in his head- he was cursing himself inwardly. Because this was _not_ the way he expected this initial meeting to go. Raihan had been hoping for a rather nice greeting. Sitting in harsh sunlight weather by the lake side catching up on all the things that the both of you had missed.

“So, since you are my endorsement, you do realize that gives me an excuse to come and bother you no matter the time, right?” He kidded, taking a left at the stadium. It caught you off guard, making you stumble to catch up to Raihan. Curse him, and his long legs!!

“Am I supposed to be annoyed by that?” Joking back, he was relieved to see that small smile return to your face. He really did hate it, when he made you sad… Raihan had promised himself, after he had left you on that bridge that night, he would never make you that sad ever again.

“No, but the notion would be nice. Most people are.” Chuckling at your response, you then found yourself standing in front of the Budew Inn. It threw you off, how big this place was… How nice it looked. With a small shove from the small of your back, Raihan pushed you in against your better judgement. What met you, surprised you even more.

“Raihan! You’re okay!” Nessa stood up from one of the chairs to come bounding over to the two of you. Blinking, she seemed so familiar. Suddenly a memory of a very grumpy fisherman’s daughter from Raihan’s trial group was brought to mind… But she was so _pretty_ now. Damn, puberty did her fine. But it didn’t excuse the fact that you were quickly then shoved out of the group as Nessa, and a few other fans came to crowd around the gym leader. Raihan found himself in an awkward position between having to explain to the news reporters what happened- being very careful with his word choices, and glancing over at you.

You found yourself a nice little corner away from the public, as you sighed in relief. Crowds were never your strong suit, and let alone- now you realized that you would be that ‘trash bum’ that everyone would hate on TV. The moment that you stood in those trails, and those stadiums… No doubt no one would be rooting for you to win. Well, maybe Leon and Raihan. But that would be about it.

You listened in on their conversation. The news reporters were asking why Raihan had suddenly disappeared into a sandstorm in the wild area.

“I mean, I spend a lot of time training there. So it would only make sense I wanted my team to be in the best shape so that I would eventually beat Leon!” Raihan laughed, brushing off the question with ease. Nessa seemed relieved as well .

“But there were people speculating that there was an unseen endorsement that you had taken on this year! What made you decide to hide your participant?” Well, that was a rude question. It made your eyebrow raise in question, looking over at the Gym Leader to hear what his answer to this would be.

“Actually, there was a mix up with the desk attendant. They didn’t realize who my challenger was. So, she ended up missing the ceremony by accident. Everything’s figured out and she’ll be heading to Turffield first thing in the morning.” Beaming, you could tell that Raihan was truly proud about the fact that you finally got the guts to be in this mess with him. Before they could ask anything else, Raihan quickly pulled them in for that famous selfie pose. It made the reporters distracted, and yet enjoying the fact they were getting to take a picture with the coolest Gym Leader in Galar.

“Good to see you’re not hurt. Raihan was worried about you.” Gasping, because the stranger scared you- Leon had to take a couple steps back as you flailed your arms.

“D-Don’t do that!” Huffing, you had to calm down to realize that it was indeed Leon in front of you. For once, the champion looked tired. Plus, he also wasn’t in that dastardly outfit of his. But rather just settled for some jeans and a blue t-shirt with Charizard on it.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it. You usually never let your guard down long enough for one of us to scare you like that.” Laughing, Leon huffed as some of his bushy hair got in his face. Looking annoyed for just a moment, you could only shake your head as Leon pulled out a band from his pocket to pull back his hair into a actually neat ponytail. The look suited him, as it made Leon look like a burnt-out champion who had been doing this too long.

That or a certain older trainer who loved red and pikachu just as much as he loved Charizard. Honestly, he really did remind you of the Kanto region’s Champion. The last you heard through the grape vine; such a legendary trainer was currently in the Alola islands on a well-deserved vacation.

“I try not to do such a thing. Otherwise I get guys like you who scare me all the time.” Smiling, you felt slightly more relaxed now that Leon was here. You glanced over to Raihan, who was trading pictures with the reporters at this point. He would be finished soon.

“True, but Raihan wouldn’t do that to you. Would he?” Leon whispered, making you slap him away in embarrassment. Feeling a rumble in your pocket, you realized you had Noir inside his ball longer then you wanted. With a flash, Noir was back out into the air- looking very annoyed at you. He seemed a bit calmer now.

“For the love of Arceus, please don’t attack him in a hotel. I can’t afford to be kicked out alright?” Commanding, Noir refused to look at you. Even though he knew you were right in the long run… He’d just have to wait for his moment- _then_ he’d kill Raihan when you were over him. In which, the bat could only hope.

“Hey. I didn’t teach you Scary Face. Stop it.” You grabbed Noir in your arms, and held him there. The Noitbat squirmed for a moment, before realizing that you weren’t going to let him go anytime soon. Shaking his head at you, Leon wasn’t surprised in the least that the relationship the two of you had together. Considering that you had turned that everstone Raihan had traded him for into a necklace that would sit around Noir’s neck for a while… He could only wonder when you would let the bat evolve into a Noivern.

Then the bat dragon could _really_ kill Raihan if he so chose.

“I see you’ve taken good care of him.” Speaking of the devil, Noir looked up to see the very man he wanted to murder. With a bop on the head, you looked down at your pokemon. Raihan wasn’t surprised that Noir had a grudge against him… Considering what he did to Noir when the bat was free with his own kind. But, at the same time… If he really didn’t want to be caught- he should have been more careful. Noir knew that he was a ‘rare’ species of his kind, but nonetheless, the bat was a rather free willed spirit. Raihan was surprised inwardly that you were able to tame the spirit in the first place.

“Yeah… He’s my best friend.” Smiling, your face was rather tender and soft looking at Noir. Which made the bat pause in his glowering for just a moment to realize that you really did care for him… Not that he didn’t know that already.

“So, you trained him through whistles huh? Wish I had the time to do that.” Raihan grumbled, making you look up at him. He really did look rather drained. Both trainers did, and if you didn’t know better- they probably would have fallen asleep right then and there.

“It took a while, but once we got all the moves figured out… And once I learned how to whistle in the first place… It comes in handy when you’re trying not to be eaten by a snorlax I discovered.” Shrugging, finally- Nessa came by to see who it truly was that kept Raihan so frazzled lately.

“Oh. It’s you.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been getting a lot of that lately. You know, you’ve grown up to be really pretty. Like… Damn lady.” Complimenting, Nessa didn’t even know how to respond to such a statement. Here she thought you’d be some ungrateful slum brat like those she had encountered plenty in times before but… Hey. It was a good first impression. It made Nessa fidget a little, messing with her hair.

“Thanks… Nice to see you too.” She mumbled through her fingers, making you smile happily back at her .

Telepathy – Whistle Battle Order

  * Air Slash
  * Screech
  * Shadow Ball
  * Dark Pulse



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnd we're off! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who comments, and thank you to those who read. I appreciate you guys stopping by too check out my story. Stay safe, and may your quarantine days be filled with activities!
> 
> -Zavier001


	5. An Unfortunate Incident

Yawning, your eyes opened to an unfamiliar room. It was cozy- and you found yourself sleeping on a bed. Honestly, it felt like floating… Considering that you hadn’t had a room like this in- how long? Sunshine was slowly beginning to creep through the windows- a small breeze running through the hotel room. Blinking- you rubbed sleep from your eyes. Feeling a familiar weight on your lap, looking down you couldn’t help but smile. Noir was sleeping, curled up on your legs… You could faintly hear his breathing before realizing that your ears were ringing from the silence.

Maybe it had been due to the fact that you were used to Noir’s high-pitched sound for echo location. Stirring, the bat looked up at you with slightly squinting eyes. He too, was also just as sleep as you were. Looking outside the window- you saw that the sun was beginning to rise. Which made sense to you, considering that your biological clock always ran with the sun rising and the sun setting. Unless you really wanted to do some studying. Deciding that now would be a good time to get out of bed, you stood. Stretching as Noir could hear some of your back cracking a little bit. He was used to hearing your body joints creak, crack, and move this time of day. Although, he could never understand why such a painful sounding exercise would make you _less_ tense.

Thus, your morning routine began. You took advantage of the showers for once, enjoying the hot water. Noir took the opportunity to let the steam soak into his fur- grooming the tuffs of fluff around his neck. When the steam finally cleared- you looked to Noir with wet hair who in turn gave a rather light gust of his wings. Soon enough, your hair was dry- and thankfully less fizzy then usual. Fishing through your belongings, you settled on a nice blue shirt and a pair of black jeans with brown boots to match. Noir then sat on your backpack as you found the Mudsdale-hair brush you had been looking for originally. Noir happily purred as you went through his fur, combing out the sand and extra mats that the bat sometime missed.

Suddenly, you were shocked out of nowhere. It made you hiss in pain, trying to comb through the hair more till finally you saw a blur of yellow. You looked back behind you to see some sort of tiny… spider on your bed. It clicked and hissed at you. Raising your hands in wariness you had to think of where you’d seen this type of spider before. Seeing the pokemon, it also made you wonder how in the world had you missed this tiny spider all this time. Until, you realized that you were always shocked by the static electricity from Noir’s thick fur.

A Joltik! Whistling once, Noir quickly sprung to action as a large gust of wind then tore through the room. Easily rendering the poor little spider unconscious. It teetered back and forth before finally falling on it’s back. Standing up, you once again rummaged through your belongings. Finally, you found an empty pokeball you had been saving for occasions such as this. Throwing it at the Joltik, the light submerged around the pokemon before bringing it back into the container. Now that you thought about it, there would be a good reason to keep Joltic on the team… With a small click, there was then a small chime from the pokeball- signaling that Joltic was caught. This brought a smile to your face, walking over to pick up the pokeball. It hummed with electricity, and you could feel the Joltik inside stirring around. Looking back at Noir with a rather goofy grin, the Noibat was not enthusiastic about an electric type being on the team.

“Oh come on, the bug type will be good for the first gym. You know it!” Tapping the circle, the ball opened revealing the rather disheveled spider. She looked up at you with a rather harsh glare. Refusing to budge from the spot she was summoned, you then quickly tossed an Oran berry at her. Joltic’s eyes widened at the food, as she munched quickly on the berry. You shook your head in amusement, as the Joltic’s glare went from hatred to suddenly lighting up like a kid in a candy store. Noir on the other hand, was glaring right back at the Joltic.

When the spider finished munching on the berry, she began to jump around happily before spitting a web at your shoulder. It attached quickly, taking you by surprise when it pulled itself and perched on you. The fur on the spider sending small electric shocks down your arm. It was a rather interesting feeling but nonetheless, she was now part of your team. Noir perched on your head, as you realized that now… You’d be probably having to walk around with these two pokemon attached to you for a while. Looking around the room, you realized that now you had created a mess with Noir… Feeling bad, you began to tidy the room up a bit.

“Are you sure she woke up on time?” Leon could only ask, standing in the foyer of the hotel with Raihan. The Dragon trainer could only shrug. Hop and Gloria were already on their way to Turffield. Although, the trainer could have sworn that Piers’s little sister was also now in the challenge as well. Her name was… Marnie? Raihan wasn’t quite sure, all that he knew that you were getting a _late_ start on your challenge.

“Honestly, I dunno if I should be surprise if she slept in late. I mean, it’s probably the first time she’d slept on a bed in Gods know how long.” Shrugging, Raihan was about to click the elevator button before lo-and-behold… There you were. He was surprised though, seeing a new companion perched on your shoulder. The Joltic looked like it was so very happy attached to you, where as Noir was looking down in wariness.

“Sorry… Had an incident this morning.” Chuckling, you walked out into the foyer. Noticing that everyone was gone. Were you really running that late?

“I see that… You think you’re good from here? I’m thinking of flying off to Turffield.” Raihan asked, as you nodded. It was an easy walk from here to the next gym. You had done some recon before going out into that sandstorm to see how exactly the ‘walk’ would be. But considering, that you now had a bug type on your team- hopefully you’d be a bit more set.

“I’d like to think so, but knowing me… I’ll be a mess by the time I reach the first gym.” Shrugging, suddenly a fairly cheap phone was held in front of you. It was an old time flip phone, had a decent ability to take pictures though. Looking up at Raihan in confusion, the Dragon trainer then shoved in your hand. _Making_ you take the electronic.

“You’re going to need to at least know what level your pokemon are. On top of that, there isn’t a pokedex in that phone- so you’ll need to compile your notes elsewhere. Plus… It gives me an excuse to call you to ask how you’re doing.” Winking, you weren’t quite sure how to use this… thing. You could figure out that there was at least an app that connected to the Bluetooth of the pokeballs you had. It showed you that Joltic was level 9, whereas Noir was…

“Oh, good Gods… Noir, I didn’t know that you were level 48. No wonder he was able to one-shot this poor baby.” Murmuring, you gave the Joltic’s head a small pat. Huffing, Noir didn’t care one bit… So long as he had the everstone it wouldn’t have mattered. Raihan, on the other hand wasn’t surprised to know that Noir was that high of level already. Considering that he had caught Noir at level 25. Finally, you ran through the moves that both Noir and Joltic knew. Electroweb was slot one. Otherwise, it wasn’t much else of importance. First thing you wanted to do then… Was get Joltic up to speed.

“You said that the gym challengers can take this as slow as they want right?” Asking Raihan, he nodded in response. Which meant you did indeed have at least a few days before it became rather worrisome that you didn’t start the challenge. Putting the phone away in your pocket, you then held your head high.

“Alright! I got some training to do!” Huffing, you began to walk forward. You gasped, nearly stumbling down the stairs. The quick action made Noir grab onto your shirt, to prevent you from falling. Feeling that Joltic also had spun a web to keep you anchored upright made the Noibat look down at the bug. She looked back in little to no concern as you finally managed to stand yourself up right. You could hear Leon and Raihan laughing in the background.

“She’s gonna die before the first gym… It won’t be any pokemon’s fault, it’ll be her own!” Laughing, Leon couldn’t help but sigh in happiness as Raihan was still cackling at your clumsiness. Huffing, you looked down before you began to walk down the stairs. Knowing that this wasn’t going to be something the boys would let down anytime soon.

Noir had to take a back seat on this one, although the pokemon wasn’t used to it. He wasn’t used to sharing _you_ for that matter. The poor bat suddenly found himself not the center of attention anymore, and he could only watch from his happy little perch in the tree on Route 3. Noting how many oran berries you beginning to go through as you once again had to whistle long once, before telling the Joltic to move in front for a battle. A Gossifleur enjoying the sunshine contently until it noticed that you and Joltic were preparing for battle.

Surprised, the pokemon suddenly began to throw leaves at Joltic. Catching the spider off guard, making her lose some health. Shaking the debris off, Joltic looked back at you before you gave two short whistles. Joltic struggled to remember what you had asked, unsure of what your command was as you gave the command-

“Bug Buzz!”

Remembering that you had taken the time to use some of your TMs and TRs from the Wild Area, Joltic began to vibrate before suddenly she found that sound waves were beginning to emanate from her body. It was super cool to watch as the soundwaves made it to the Gossifleur, battering the grass pokemon. It shook it’s head a couple times before realizing that there was a small blue hue that surrounded the pokemon. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared. You saw that the blue hue meant that the pokemon had lost some of it’s special defense points by a stage. Smiling, you were about to give out another whistling command before the Gossifleur pulled some more leaves out. They looked razor sharp and were launched at Joltic. Who had no choice but to take the hit, Noir almost ready to switch out for the spider. Holding your hand out to the bat, Noir shook his fur as his ears hummed. You knew that the bat was having a hard time. Wanting to help Joltic learn at least a bit faster. Either that, or just get the battle done and over with considering that he knew Air Slash.

Joltic struggled to stand, she wasn’t quite a fan of this harsh training. Considering she had latched onto the Noibat for the electricity and food last night. You weren’t the best trainer to get along with, but you also never let Joltic faint either. So, she had no choice but to trust your judgment. Even though the spider felt a little on the weak side, she stood up. Ready to face the Gossifleur again. There was a bit of a pause, perhaps you were thinking before hearing the same two short whistles… What did that mean again? This time, Joltic remembered that it was the move Bug Buzz and began to vibrate. With huge satisfaction, she watched as the sound waves launched at the Gossifleur. Unfortunately, the pokemon took a harsh hit. It stumbled about a bit, before falling on the ground. Fainting. Somehow, Joltic felt all the stronger for the defeat. Noir knew that look on a pokemon, for he had the same look upon discovering Dark Pulse. She jumped around, happy in her won battle.

Joltic found a move they knew as a personal favorite.

“Alright, lets take a break.” Smiling, you dug out a pan with a bit of sticks setting up a makeshift curry pot by the tree in the sunshine. Noir happily flitted down, knowing that it meant some of your awesome curry was going to be made. Rummaging through your camping gear, you found two plates… Realizing that you were so used to having just Noir and you- it made you shrug. It’d just mean you’d be eating out of the pot for a bit until you could grab a couple more. So, you opened your container of berries, picking out a couple of… You weren’t sure yet. Noir liked his curry _really_ spicy. Where as you pulled out this weird phone contraption. Shuffling through a couple of the buttons you found that Joltic enjoyed rather mild flavors… Meaning that you would have to compromise. So you set aside some of cheri berries, and settled for about three of the oran berries mixed with two pecha berries. Thus, you threw it into the pot!

Noir on the other hand, was rather disappointed to see that the curry wasn’t the normal dark red that he was used to. Looking up at you with a grumpy look, the face made you smile. Joltic on the other hand was so very happy to see such a large plate of food in front of her. She began to chow into the plate, eating as much as her body would allow. Even though, to _you_ had thought you gave her a rather small portion since she was such a small pokemon. Noir nibbled a bit of the curry, rather unhappy with the taste before you gestured him back. Looking at you with confusion, his eyes lit up in happiness when he saw you take some of the cheri berries you had set aside earlier and squish them in your hand. Even though the spiciness made your hands hurt because of all the scratches and nicks on them, the juice dripped down onto the curry as you stirred it with a spoon. Soon the same delectable smell wafted through Noir’s nose as the bat purred in happiness before diving into the curry. Standing back, you ate some of curry yourself. Throwing a couple more of the cheri berries in. Happy with the fact that your pokemon were somewhat getting along and yet enjoying your cooking nonetheless.

Noticing that the Gossifleur was beginning to stir, you looked past the tree to see it struggling to get up. As smoothly as you could, you gathered some of the curry you made into a couple of leaves nearby. Making a small plate for the pokemon, as you sat down in front of it. The Gossifleur hissed at you, remembering that it was you and that Joltic that made it feel this way. Surprised to see a small pile of food on a leaf being handed to it in a gentle fashion, you smiled at the wild pokemon who reluctantly began to nibble on the food. Joltic was confused watching you do this; she had just defeated this pokemon about half an hour ago yet here you were- helping it gain that health back! Noir bumped Joltic, making the spider look up at the bat. Judging by the way he stared back at her, this was a common thing. She looked at the camping gear that you carried around, Joltic noticing that you had a lot of berry containers, more so then the common trainer she had seen time and time again in the wild area. It wasn’t a matter of lack of food, bur rather… You just loved to forage through the berries.

When the Gossifleur looked satisfied, it gave a small chirp of thanks to you before scurrying off in the tall grass. Sighing, you threw the leaves in the grass nearby. Knowing that some sort of zigzagoon would come by to chomp on it eventually. With that, found a nearby creek to begin washing the plates and the pot. You weren’t surprised that the Gossifleur hated you for what you did, but the least you could do it make sure it wouldn’t be hurt by other predators nearby. Other pokemon had done the same for you in the past, so you figured you could return the gesture to more pokemon in return. You didn’t know what it was about pokemon… They just seemed to communicate better with you.

Raihan on the other hand, was rather on the concerned side. Leon had decided that perhaps they should take the long way around- specifically to Spikemuth. Even if the Dragon trainer didn’t really understand why, it seemed as if the Champion had something else in mind. So, they were walking down Route 7 avoiding the tall grass patches. Leon was staring at his phone, reading something over and over again. Raihan growing more anxious about what it was they were doing in the first place.

“Hey, man. What’s going on?” Asking lowly, Leon looked up to realize that they were standing in front of a tunnel that led to Spikemuth… To his dismay, Piers had been right. The tunnel was blocked by some sort of protest group, that were chanting about something to do with clean electricity for years to come. Even though they looked rather goofy in their outfits, Leon couldn’t remember when a group like this had begun to show up till recently. Their blockage to Spikemuth would make it certainly more difficult to make the normal route for the challengers.

“I’ve just been getting a lot of social posts from people in Route 7, saying that there’s some sort of group claiming to be Team Nerium… Peirs warned me that the group was starting to become violent enough to where even Team Yell wasn’t able to do much to clear them.” Murmuring, Leon wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation. Raihan could see the group were dressed in unison soft pallet colors… He wasn’t quite sure where he had heard the term ‘Nerium’ before, but it seemed like this team gave off a more floral design rather than the heavy punk that Team Yell really focused on. The two trainers stayed at the edge of the Route, trying to listen to what this group was yelling about.

“Galar is inefficient with their energy usage! We must create a clean electricity for the future sake!” Raihan could assume that it was one of the grunts that was yelling this. He noticed that they were drawing a small crowd from people passing by.

“There are many strong pokemon in the region that can help supply us with this energy we need! It is up to you, the people, to help us find these pokemon!” Frowning, Raihan heard this term before. It was something that bothered you highly. Leon couldn’t help but draw a serious face as well. They were talking about something far worse then this group made it seem.

“Us, Team Nerium, will then be able to supply that clean energy to everyone in Galar! Both pokemon put to work, and people working in unison will make Galar a strong and prosperous Region forever!” Then it clicked. Some of the crowd were murmuring and whispering to each other. Wondering what the Team meant by ‘work’. Raihan usually didn’t like to doubt people, but something about this group just made it very hard to do so.

“I hope they aren’t talking about pokemon slavery.” Raihan whispered to Leon. The Champion could only nod his head back in response. Keeping an eye on these grunts. Although it wasn’t subtle enough, till one of the groupies looked Leon straight in the eye. Both trainers knew that Galar, even though a better region now then in the past, had resorted to using slavery in both people and pokemon to keep the region running.

“You got a problem with our statement champion?!” The grunt called, beginning to shove through the crowd. When people realized that it was indeed Leon, they gasped in surprise. Suddenly there was tension in the air, as the people saw that this wasn’t the normal, cheery ‘Champion Time’ person they had come to love

“What do you plan to do with the pokemon given to you?” Leon asked back, grabbing the edge of his cape in case this was going to get messy. Raihan pulled out a pokeball just in case as well. Both trainers knowing that this wasn’t going to end without some sort of fight.

“We plan to work them! Just like people so lovingly cast aside the pokemon they use in jobs around the Region! Only putting them in jobs because they get the reward out of it!” Explaining, once again Leon could hear the murmurs of the crowd. Raihan noticed that there were few beginning to agree with this grunt. Other groupies beginning to notice that Raihan was among the company of the champion. With a bright flash, the crowd realized that there was a fight beginning to break out. They ran out of the tunnel, screaming and yelling- as Leon and Raihan had to fight against the current of people with the Nerium Grunts beginning to send out pokemon of their own.

Since there were at least four of them, Raihan smiled. It was a rather evil smile, as wind suddenly began to pick up around him. Blowing his hair back, as Raihan then crouched down in his favorite battling position. Leon threw his heavy cape behind him- as Charizard made its infamous appearance with his own light from the pokemon. The Champion wasn’t surprised to see Raihan throw out two instead of just one of his team. Leon was thankful that at that time- Raihan kept his _actual_ team on him… Not the one that they both used for show.

So, with a blast of sand hurling through the tunnel- the grunts were surprised when a Gigalith appeared right next to a Garchomp… Of all pokemon. Raihan at that moment was rather glad he had taken a small vacation to the Isle of Armor before the gym challenges had started. The Dragon Trainer had the most fortunate luck of finding himself a Gibble, which of course became a quick addition to his main team he used amongst the Gym Leaders, and Champion. With a mighty roar, Garchomp stepped forward. Leon had to hold onto his hat as Raihan’s sandstorm took over the battle field.

Out came four pokemon from the grunts. Raihan wasn’t surprised to see that they were fairly high leveled pokemon. However, the two trainers noticed a rather strange theme that the grunts followed. They were no joking around either as a Corviknight, a Steelix, a Manectric, and a Klinklang were thrown out onto the battle field. Leon could easily tell that they were in the upper 50s level… Meaning that the team had accordingly spaced their pokemon to match the ramping level of the area… Or catch unknowing challengers and force them to give up their pokemon.

Right off the bat, some of the pokemon took chip damage. The rocks and sand buffeting the current parties, even though Raihan couldn’t hear what one of the grunts called- suddenly there was a Steelix quickly hurling into Gigalith. It took the dragon trainer by surprise, as Gigalith took the hit. Making the pokemon be thrown back a few feet behind him into the wall of the tunnel. Grunting, his Gigalith shook its head before standing strong again. Signaling his trainer that it didn’t really hurt that much.

“Charizard! Fire Blast!” Leon called as Charizard inhaled quickly before letting loose a pillar of flames into the tunnel. The Steelix was able to dodge out of the way, but it still hurled past the Corviknight and Manectric to a direct hit to the Klinklang. It screeched in pain, before being thrown back into the tunnel. The Grunt had no choice but to pull the pokemon from the fight. Raihan felt the structure begin to shudder with the force of the battle, Charizard quickly shutting his mouth when the move was completed.

“Garchomp! Stone Edge!” Yelling over the wind, Garchomp roared. It jumped up before slamming into the ground, cracks forming where it landed. Suddenly large sharpened stones protruded from the ground- striking the Corviknight harshly. The poor pokemon fell from the sky it hovered, crashing to the ground unconscious. Another Grunt called curses at Raihan, having to pull the bird back into the pokeball. However, the move proved a bit too much for the tunnel as the Grunts had to retreat. Rubble beginning to fall from the ceiling, making Leon and Raihan call their pokemon back as well. Running out, there was a large ‘BANG’. When the Sandstorm settled, and the dust fading away… The tunnel was collapsed. Just at the point where it was past the first light.

Leon stood up, as Raihan had to dust off some debris from his jacket. The breeze faded from around him, the two trainers looking at the tunnel with concern. He could hear sirens off in the distance, as construction workers were piling in from Hammerlocke. Leon found the two of them pulled off to the side, as medics were beginning to look the two trainers over. Making sure that they weren’t hurt. Soon enough, Raihan wasn’t surprised to see Peirs pushing his way through the crowd of reporters, and workers. Behind him were a few Team Yell grunts, and he gestured them over to the tunnel. No doubt with orders to keep challengers away from the debris.

“I guess my hunch was correct huh.” Piers asked as Leon nodded looking over to the rubble. Raihan looked rather expressionless. Piers could guess that the Dragon Trainer was lost in thought.

“More then correct my friend… It looks like we might have one of those Teams bent on controlling the Region.” Huffing, Leon didn’t know what to make of this predicament. Of course, it had to happen right has the challenges began, it was going to be difficult to cover something of this magnitude up. Leon had heard about it in other Regions, the way that the Grunts spoke reminding him of Team Plasma in Unova. In which, he had read in the news that it had been a fairly close defeat as the team had a whole _castle_ storm the Elite 4 section. Ever since then, all Regions had been fairly strict on group gathering of magnitude. Although, he couldn’t be too sure for the Alolan Region… They usually were always the last to discover things going on globally. Leon was careful about it for that very reason… He couldn’t risk Hop getting hurt. Raihan on the other hand was thinking about how he missed this in Hammerlocke. Inwardly, the trainer was thinking that perhaps this group had rallied when he had taken that vacation to the Isles… Originally the purpose had been to train some more, and perhaps _finally_ find that pokemon Raihan could use to defeat Leon with. But now, Raihan was thinking that maybe he shouldn’t have gone.

Maybe this new Team Nerium wouldn’t have been created if he had been more diligent with his duties.

“Alright both of you, I’d better scream in your faces if that’s how depressing you’re going to be. I’m the ‘dark one’ remember?” Piers waved in front of the two Trainer’s face. Blinking, it at least shook Leon out of his thoughts. As for Raihan… He eventually sighed, and snapped his fingers. Quickly his phone launched out of his pocket, taking some well-placed photos of the rubble. The least that he could do was document a few things… Do some investigation.

“Thanks Piers… Will you be using Team Yell to direct challengers in different directions?” Leon asked, Piers nodding.

“I’ll have to use a higher-level team this time around. Being the now second to last gym for the challengers to face. But yeah, I’ll make sure Team Yell blocks the way to the tunnel for sure. They’re… Pretty good at that.” Shrugging, Piers looked back at the wreckage. Sure enough, the reporters had enough information to most likely cause mass panic in the Region and thus had taken their leave. Thankfully, there were now two Team Yell grunts on guard duty, and he wasn’t surprised when any construction workers came by- they yelled at them. Stating that they were going to hinder any challenger’s progress. Leon sighed, meaning that he would have to make sure that the reports knew ‘what actually happened’.

“You know, this could be an easy ‘dynamaxing pokemon’ situation. They’d buy the mess.” Raihan suggested, swiping through his phone. Trying to see if any of the media outlets were fast enough to create articles of speculation. It really was a messy situation they were in. Leon and Piers looked at each other. Both agreeing that an excuse on that magnitude would be just ‘messy’ enough to convince the world that there wasn’t a team bent on their ‘clean electricity’ regional domination.

“Leon, you might want to let the Gym Leaders that there’s a change in order. It’d have to change from my gym, Circhester, Ballonlea, and Stow-on-Side to the flip of it. Better do it quickly, so that they have time to change teams.” Suggesting, Raihan held his hand up to the pair.

“I’ll do it. Leon would get lost; these gyms are in my area of the main city anyways.” Raihan grumbled. So much for following your gym challenge. He was kinda looking forward to it honestly, but only looked up to Leon with a request.

“You keep the challengers away from this mess. Especially Gloria and Hop. You wouldn’t want him of all people to get hurt…” Raihan ordered, knowing that Leon was very good at creating distractions at least. Leon also knew it was a underlying request to keep _you_ out of this mess too.

“I’ll make sure they don’t know what’s going on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put a lot of thought into what I could do with this, down to the Team name. Nerium is a beautiful yet considered one of the most deadly flowers on Earth. I found it fitting for whom I want the ultimate bad guy will be. (In which I think all of us can guess at this point.) I'll also be explaining in these notes why some Admins (yes there will be Admins) are named certain ways, and how their teams were chosen. I'm super excited to keep writing this story. As always, thanks for reading!
> 
> -Zavier001


	6. Battling Reputations

Whistling once, Joltic spun a web against the Rookidee easily. The electricity frying the poor bird until it fell over from the shock. You smiled, making your bottom lip hurt. Pushing a finger to it gently and pulling away, you saw traces of blood on your finger tip… It made you pull out some chapstick from your pocket and apply the ointment to it. Looking up at the sky, there was almost little to no sunlight left. Opening up this stupid flip phone that Raihan had given you, and pushing now a familiar combination of buttons- you were looking over Joltic’s status again. Inwardly, it made you rather happy to have one of these… Even if you didn’t know how you were going to repay Raihan for it. _Finally_ after a rather harsh day of grinding, Joltic had reached level 21, being the level that you wanted her to achieve.

The Rookidee on the other hand, ruffled its feathers and huffed. Expecting the pokemon to attack you, Joltic went on guard. However, this wasn’t the case as Rookidee gave a couple wing flaps and hovered in front of your face. Questioning what in the world this pokemon was doing, it took you a minute to realize what they wanted. Fishing through your bag, you pulled out an oran and a cheri berry for the bird to take. Happily in two plucks, Rookidee fluffed up once at the spiciness of the berry but you could see some electricity leaving the body… It made you feel slightly guilty on the inside that Joltic had paralyzed this poor pokemon. Recovering some health, Jolic suddenly was scurrying underneath Rookidee- snatching up all those little waves of electric energy. Shaking your head, you whistled sharply as both Joltic and Noir zipped right to your side.

Tasting blood, once again the chapstick was taken out and applied. There wasn’t much you could do for your lips at this point… They were torn, from hours -and possibly a day or two- of training Joltic to where you wanted her to be. But now, you were practically beaming with pride and Noir could feel it too. She was responding almost as quickly as Noir was, even though it looked like the poor spider had taking a few beatings. At this point, Noir had gained some respect for Joltic. She never faltered, never gave up and kept up with the pair of you at an alarmingly good pace. Noir had no choice but to accept her on the team… Joltic was just as headstrong and willing as he was. Soon, the Rookidee flew away. Most likely back to their flocks. Looking at the path that lead to the Galar Mines No.1, you began to walk down the Route, realizing that you probably were the last challenger taking her time getting to Turffield.

“Hey! Don’t just ignore me!” Suddenly a lass called, chasing behind you. Confused, the call made you turn around seeing that a young girl with blonde hair and some sort of uniform was trying to grab your attention.

“Didn’t you hear me?! I thought you were taught that when you meet a trainer’s eyes that you better be prepared for battle!” Explaining, it dawned on you that… No. You weren’t taught such a thing. Stopping, you gave a small whistle for Noir to fall behind as Joltic took it as her cue to jump forward. Ready to battle, if that was what this Lass wanted. Even though at this point, your lips were beginning to throb a bit. You might have to yell your commands for a while. It wasn’t a battle style that you preferred ever since you discovered thanks to some Corviknights that clicks and whistles can herd, move, and command certain ways.

“Well, then let’s battle!” Smiling, you stood strong against her. The Lass also smiled back- totally ready to wipe the floor with the last challenger to come by. Before everything started however, you noticed that the Lass pulled out her phone to check something.

“Wait… I thought I fought the last challenger a while ago?” Murmuring to herself, you looked at her with disbelief. They didn’t even put you in the roster. This new predicament made you scoff.

“No, I’m a last-minute entry with an endorsement from Raihan himself. They must have forgotten to add me to the list.” You argued, the Lass dawning a look of confusion for a second. Scrolling down on a fancy looking touchscreen- there was a look of realization. Maybe she did realize who you actually were. Although you were confused, watching the Lass pull out some different pokeballs then the team that she currently carried.

“Sorry about that. You’re the one that the corporation doesn’t want to make through. I’d like to pull out my harder set team so that I’m the one you don’t pass!!” Snickering, she threw out a Vulpix. Something buzzed in your pocket, as you pulled out your phone. Wondering why it was buzzing, you opened it with a flick of your thumb -inwardly you were happy that this movement was becoming a habit- it gave you a small profile on the Lass.

Lass Rei had sent out a level 18 right out the gate. Instead of the normal level 12 that it was supposed to be, as registered in the Trainer List for the challengers to grow and develop. Whistling sharply for a switch, Rei held out her hand for a command.

“Vulpix! Ember!” The pokemon gave a small almost bark like motion, making a flame appear. It shot towards Joltic, before she heard your sharp whistle and Noir switched in. Jumping back, Noir took the hit fairly easily. Shuffling his fur, and grooming his ears to show his opponent that indeed- that little attack didn’t hurt. Rei’s phone buzzed, showing exactly what this Noitbat could be.

Surprised, you watched as some sparkles flew off of Noir when he entered the battlefield. This was a new thing, but Noir shook them off- reading himself for another one of their weaker attacks. Rei on the other hand, was gaping at the level different between the two.

“How did you get such a strong pokemon right away?! Most challengers have only level 20 or 15 by this point. Are you cheating?!” Accusatory, Rei spat at you. Making your face steel up, almost emotionless. Cheating? Really? If there was one thing you never resorted to, it was cheating. If the corporation was dead set on making you fail, then it looked like you had no choice but to use every arsenal you knew.

“Cheating? This is Noir. He’s been a life-long partner I’ve had.” You growled, whistling once. Noir flew up, both Rei and the Vulpix confused as to what you just called. Suddenly, and Noir fed off your annoyance, he flapped his wings harshly in multiple directions. Causing solidifying gusts of air to sail to the Vulpix. It took only two of the gusts to completely knock back the poor pokemon as Rei pulled them back into their ball.

“What kind of command was that?! Don’t you have any manners?” Gasping, Rei had no choice but accept defeat. You shrugged, unwilling to tell this ‘trainer’ what your strategies were.

“Why should I tell you? You’d just tell your ‘corporation’ what to expect. If you guys are so hell bent as an organization to screw me over- to hell my manners in battle.” Explaining, the Lass sighed. Cautious as she fished through her pockets, suddenly you found that your hand was filled with about 1008 worth of money. That… Was a lot of money.

“Jeez… Look I’m sorry, hope this’ll make up for it.” Rei murmured, making your eyes widen. Not many people took the time to say sorry to you after insulting your entire fighting style and your pride in Noir. Your mouth was agape, unsure what to tell her. The Lass’s face changed to one of confusion, looking at your reaction as if it was uncommon.

“Come on, you gotta get to the next trainer and beat their teams too. Turffield is just a few blocks from here… You aren’t like the organization says you are. So, I owed you an apology.” Explaining, you shut your mouth before putting the money gingerly in a zippered pocket. Just to make sure that if someone tried to pick pocket you, it’d be difficult and loud enough for Noir to stop them.

“…Thanks. You’re a lot nicer than you seem.” Murmuring, you were turning your back to continue down the route. Glancing back at Rei, she gave a small wave before pulling out a revive for her poor Vulpix. From that point, you went through different battles- each trainer having their own ‘team’ to help pokemon grow. Joltic gained a few more levels, going up to 23. Each time, the trainers giving money for winning to help support you along. Also- to add- each trainer thought you would be an easy target to take out. Realizing that it truly was a good thing that you had Joltic with you, there were a lot of times that she came in handy for Noir, making it easy for him to pick off pokemon one by one.

Each time it surprised you that the trainers apologized, giving you tips on training. Plus, you were extremely happy when the mailman shared a glass of Moo Moo milk with you. Saying that he wasn’t used to seeing challengers with such spunk. Not at least till this year, as apparently Gloria and Hop had all but wiped the floor with them too. Inwardly, it brought you a sense of warmth knowing that you were at least keeping up with those two. Gathering information as you went, they explained that whistling was a battle style that no one had really seen in a while.

Apparently, the last time they had seen use that battle style was Raihan during his trials. Leon had tried it, but his poor lips didn’t have the endurance nor patience to try it.

Once again, you were thankful for Noir. Reaching the Galar Mines, there was a kind lady that offered to heal your pokemon for you. Taking this opportunity to rest up, you sat on a rock nearby as this woman pulled out a couple different medications to give Noir and Joltic.

“You look like you’ve had some pretty rough battles out there. Your pokemon look exhausted.” She pointed out politely, the statement sending pangs of guilt in your stomach. There wasn’t much you could do about it… Everyone was out to chip off the ‘unwanted challenger’.

“Yeah… They’re well fed though.” You could only snicker, as the woman nodded. Indeed, both pokemon looked in the best health they could be. Even if there were a couple nicks and scratches from harsh battling. Spraying some of the medication, you watched with wonder as the wounds healed nicely. Noir stretched his wings, feeling less stiff and lighter. Able to move quicker almost. Joltic hopped up and down in glee, before sticking to your shoulder again.

“It doesn’t mean that your pokemon don’t love you, sweetie. They obviously are head over heels for you.” Winking, you could only blink before smiling sheepishly. Noir perched on his new spot- which was your head. Giving a wave of good-bye, you took a deep breath before entering the Mines.

If there was one thing you didn’t like… It was darkness. Dark caves specifically. Lowly, Noir’s echolocation was already at work he gave you small tugs of your hair to direct you in the correct pathways. Even if the gems gave off a nice brightness, and there were lanterns lighting the way- it was still the stuffy feeling the evelopment gave you. The bat could hear your breathing become shallow, Joltic feeling your shoulders taking deeper breaths. She wasn’t sure why you were freaked out, but Noir knew exactly what it was that made you scared. Pathways like these scared him too. Mainly for your sake.

You had hoped that you were over this fear already, considering how many dens you enter and how often you slept in the Wild Area. But nope, these tunnels still gave you chills down your spine. Thankfully, every trainer you encountered within the Mines were kind enough to allow time for you to make commands. Seeing as now your having to yell them out, your lips too chapped and bleeding to whistle properly. They gave you, and your pokemon time to comprehend what exactly the battle was requiring.

“You going to be okay? I’m sorry I was pretty mean to you in the beginning.” One of the construction workers asked, noticing that you were slightly swaying. Obviously light-headed from the environment… He had seen it in new workers, especially in the mines that were deeper into the ground. It was pretty worrisome that you looked about to pass out at any moment. Internally thankful that the construction worker pulled up a barrel for you to take a rest at, he offered a water for you to hydrate. Looking at Noir, he was worried for you too. It was written in the way his fur was quivering harder then usual. How his ears were humming a little louder, and even Joltic was making sure she sent electric currents in your body to shock you. Making sure that you were grounded, at least a little bit.

“Ah… It’s okay. I’m just not a huge fan of tunnels like these… Not a fan of darkness period.”

“It’s not that dark in here is it? Maybe I’ve been in here too long.” Laughing, he couldn’t help but wonder why. Other trainers had mentioned that it wasn’t that dark in here, if anything it didn’t feel like going through mines at all. Yet, for someone like you- there were a couple possible scenarios he could think of that would make it so that any sort of darkness would put you at unease.

“Did you have a run in with a couple Gastlys and a Gengar?” Just hearing the name made your body start shaking. Noir began to blow some air in your face, making it seem a bit more open. It made you take deeper breaths, finally the cloud of doom hanging about you disappearing enough for a moment of peace. You really just needed to make it out of here, before your fear got the best of you again.

“I did a while back… Got lost in tunnels dugtrio made for at least a few days because they had cornered me underground… Almost thought I was going to be lost forever, until the dugtrio showed me a way to the surface. Noir here could trace where I was, but couldn’t get anywhere near me for a spell till he found some of the pokemon who could help… Since then, darkness and enclosed areas like these haven’t exactly been good for my mental health.” Laughing light heartedly, it made the construction worker look at you in shock. No wonder you looked like you were going to pass out. That would make anyone afraid of the dark, and tunnels like these.

“How about I guide you out, just in case?” He offered, as you politely declined.

“No, I appreciate the gesture though. I don’t need anyone thinking that I got off easy, considering what everyone assumes of me right now.” Standing as you explained, you slapped your cheeks a few times before taking a big breath. Feeling much better, you smiled at the construction worker. His worries weren’t subsided, as he reluctantly watched you walk away and farther into the mines.

_Finally!_ Oh, thank Gods FINALLY, you got out of the mines. The open sky all but a welcoming relief, fresh air filling your lungs. Taking grateful full breaths, you had to lean against the cave exit to make sure that passing out wasn’t an option. Confused, another woman similar to the one at the beginning of the mines approached. Offering a water again which you accepted kindly. Unable to give full words, you gestured your thanks and appreciation. Looking over, you were surprised.

Rolling fields of green spanned as far as the eye could see, wheat fields in full yellow glory. In the middle of it all, was a stadium surrounded by a small village. Open, vast, and the breeze carried on a scent of berries that were sweet in the sun. Sighing in relief, you slid against the wall to the floor. Just happy to be out of the mines and hoping that it would be the last time you would have to go through something like that in a while.

“You going to be okay? It was only a two-story walk.” Pointing out, you looked up to see a familiar lavender haired man. Shaking your head in denial, you looked back to see that Leon was _truly_ there. You weren’t going crazy after all.

“A two-story walk my ass. I felt like I was suffocating in there.” Grumbling, Leon extended out a hand to you. Grunting as he pulled you up to your feet, Leon looked somewhat disheveled. Had something happened in the time that you were training and getting to Turffield?

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. Want to walk with me to the stadium? You’re the only person who hasn’t done the challenge yet. So I figured I give you a personal escort to victory!” Leon laughed at his own ridiculousness, making you smile at him. Only Leon and Raihan could make you feel ten times better after going through a trial like that. Or at least… It felt like a trial to you.

“Yeah, I’ll take you up on that offer.” You whistled softly for Joltic and Noir, who were basking in love from the woman standing at the cave entrance. Jumping quickly to your side, you almost toppled over from the force. Once you managed to stand still without your pokemon shoving you over, a puff of hot air was blown down your back. Looking up, Charizard was glaring down at you with a rather upset face. Leading you to give him a small pat on the head.

“Sorry buddy, didn’t see you.” Leon heard you murmur, as once again- you gave him a small headbutt in greeting. A significantly less harsh one, but a greeting nonetheless. Charizard seemed content, and happy as the two of you began to walk down the rolling fields of wheat that lead to the small village. You were just about to look at your phone, before Leon stopped you. His beefy arm taking a good breath out of your chest.

“H-hey, what was that fo-“

“Well, isn’t it the champion again! Come to try and stop us?!” Some sort of goofily dressed grunt was calling at the beginnings of the yellow fields. Leon’s normal cheery face dimmed to one of seriousness, a look you rarely saw on him. Glancing past this odd fellow, you saw that there were numerous amounts of the same dressed groupies in the fields. Throwing nets and balls at unsuspecting pokemon. They were rough, pulling them over their shoulders and obsessively collecting electric types mainly. You could even hear a few ‘Pika!’ cries from some of the nets… What were they doing? You could only wonder, only for your thoughts to be interrupted when Charizard took a few heavy steps forward.

“Let those pokemon go, right now.” Harshly toned, even for Leon. The grunt looked back at the others, who stood up. Pausing from their work. There was a small silence, before they began to laugh.

“Oh yeah? What’ll happen if we don’t let them go? You going to burn down this whole field to get to us? What kind of champion would ruin the region’s wheat supply?” Cackling back, the Grunt had a rather mad look in his eye. He didn’t care… He didn’t care one bit that he was hurting and stealing these wild pokemon. Leon was about to say something before hearing a sharp loud whistle. Looking back at you, it was obvious that anger was boiling in your eyes. Nothing happened right away, before a glint of teal swept by all the Grunts. Quickly, Noir made work of the nets and snagged any pokeballs he could see that the grunts were carrying. The Grunts trying all that they could to stop the Noitbat from releasing all their hard work.

“You idiots! Catch that stupid bat and let’s go!” Barking orders, the groupies tried to snag Noir before the bat heard two sharp whistles. Giving off his favorite move, dark pulses swept through the fields. Knocking the grunts back a few feet. Releasing more pokemon held captive. Soon enough, the grunts began to retreat. Running back across the roadways farther into the plains. The bat soon realized how far away he was, flying back to you. The pokeballs were thrown into your arms. Huffing in anger, the Grunt stomped his foot.

“It’s only because of that Noibat you were able to spare your reputation this time Leon! Next time won’t be so easy!” He called, running away. Leon sighed, thankful that there wasn’t a fight. You on the other hand, were as confused as you were angry. Inwardly cursing himself, Leon could only help you open those pokeballs and release the wild ones trapped inside. They all scurried away into the grass, hopefully to hide away from more people that might want to take them. Man, he really wasn’t good at keep promises… Especially since he was supposed to keep you out of this mess.

“Leon, what was that? That group… They were hurting pokemon intentionally.” You could only ask softly, Noir landing on your head. Tasting blood again in your mouth, your poor lips were probably torn at this point. Leon didn’t know where to start, considering that just moments ago- he and Raihan were the reason the tunnel collapsed. Thankfully, the media outlets bought the whole dynamaxing story. Which led the public to believe that perhaps more power spots were appearing.

“They call themselves Team Nerium.”

“Wait… Like Team Plasma, and Team Galactic? Or like the dolts Team Yell, and Team Skull?” Confused, Leon looked at you with question. How did you know about those teams, when you for sure didn’t have access to the internet or news outlets?

“Come on Leon, they’re written in newspaper articles in the Library documentary section. I’m not that out of touch with modern technology.” You grumbled, making Leon sigh. He obviously didn’t know exactly how to explain the situation at hand… But at this point there wasn’t any hiding of it either. Considering that you just involved yourself in the mess, and they would most likely return for a very powerful shiny Noibat.

“They’re along the lines of the extremity of Team Galactic with the same public ideals of Team Plasma. They’re a group of people that believe in using pokemon for clean electric energy for Galar. But, also most likely to control the Region with that electricity flow as well. Considering how much of Galar relies on energy.” You could hear the bitterness in Leon’s voice. He was cursing himself for allowing such an extreme group to get to this size of influence.

“Can we do anything to stop them before they hurt more pokemon?” Asking, Leon shook his head.

“They only just became public… We don’t know where they even came from. Or if they were part of other teams.” So, there wasn’t much you could do at that moment then. The rolling fields, and the lit-up stadium in front of you seemed to slowly turn depressing. Leon slapped his cheeks once, before smiling for you again.

“Enough depressing news! Let’s go get you that grass badge!” Beaming with energy, you were surprised when Leon grabbed you by the wrist beginning to drag you to Turffield

“Ey! Wait! Leon! Wait!” You could only call, as Noir shook his head in disappointment before following along.

Raihan was just exiting the Stow-On-Side gym, when his phone was suddenly in his face. Leon was calling, and considering with what’s been going on- he chose not to ignore this time. Hearing panting, huffing as if the champion was just running.

“If you’re not going to say anything, I’m gonna hang up.”

“W-wait just a- second… Whoo boy…” Leon gasped, watching as you were now walking into the Turffield stadium. He waved goodbye to you, giving you a thumbs up. You eventually looked at him curiously before heading inside. Leon took a couple deep breaths, before finally being able to speak properly again.

“They attacked Turffield’s wheat plains. Since they carried mostly electric pokemon in them. I couldn’t stop all of the grunts from taking pokemon… However, a certain Noibat intervened to rescue a good chunk.” Leon explained, as Raihan grit his teeth together. He was _supposed_ to keep you out of this, and not even a day later- you had somehow gotten yourself stuck dead smack in the middle of it all.

“I thought you were supposed to keep her _out_ of all this Region business. She needs to focus on the challenge that she barely got into, not some stupid Team trying to unsuccessfully take over the world.” Almost growling, Raihan was going through his pokeballs. Maybe if he got one of them to fly fast enough, he could make it to Turffield… At least to guide you through the challenge since he obviously couldn’t keep you out of anything at the moment.

“I did Raihan! I promise I did! She was the one who sent Noir divebombing into the goons! I can’t exactly help with that.” Leon hissed, looking around. So far, he hadn’t seen any return of the grunts back to the fields. Thankfully with a couple more calls to Peirs, more Yell Grunts were stationed out of sight so that they could at least battle some of the Nerium Team groupies. The only problem that Leon was having was that he didn’t know where those Grunts had run off to, and because of the fact he escorted you personally to the stadium… There wasn’t a way he could have followed them.

“Leon, you keep an eye out on Gloria and Hop… Call me when they get to Hammerlocke so that if Sonia needs to get into the vault, I can let her personally. I’ll keep any eye on her from here on out.” Murmuring, finally Raihan found his favorite pokemon. Hanging up on the champion, he couldn’t help but smile with excitement. With a small toss, a light flashed as then a giant green dragon appeared. Flygon shook her head, blinking. Raihan smiled back, giving a small grunt when Flygon gave him a tight hug.

“I know, I know… I haven’t used you in a while. I’m sorry.” He murmured, Flygon purring in response. Raihan knew she never cared, and was always understanding of everything the trainer did. Right down to having to catch another Trapinch because he couldn’t exactly keep a level 82 Flygon on his Gym team. Otherwise, no one would get through the challenges. Leon had taught him, that as a gym leader the goal is to give a challenge… Not an impossible battle.

“Ah, you’re too good to me. You know that right? Could you fly us to Turffield? I think there would be an old friend you’d like to catch up with.” Asking politely, Flygon hovered away from Raihan with a nod. She was excited to be out of her pokeball, the sunshine of the Stow-On-Side filling her with warmth. Flygon could also recognize that this was the spot that Raihan had saved her from the Yamasks.

She did however, forget how _heavy_ Raihan had become since he grew up. Flygon grunted once as he climbed gently onto her back. Looking behind her with a bit of a glare, Raihan shrugged.

“Alright, I’ll take it as a sign I need to lose weight. Come on hun, use Fly!” Winking at her, Flygon rolled her eyes before purposefully taking off suddenly. With a powerful gust, she was high enough in the air so that Raihan wouldn’t lose consciousness- but also fast enough to catch him off guard.

“You did that on purpose?! Didn’t you?!” He called over the wind, Flygon chuckling in response. She twisted and turned, Raihan enjoying the flight all the more for it. He couldn’t remember the last time they had went flying like this, openly and free… It was probably last week. Then again, Raihan was so used to using the Corviknight taxi service that he forgot how… Enjoyable flying like this had become.

Before Raihan knew it, Flygon had landed in front of the Pokemon Center in Turffield. Leaving a sense of missing wind in his face… But honestly, he didn’t feel like putting Flygon away either. Mainly due to his curiosity regarding her reaction to seeing a grown-up version of you. Considering the last time you saw Flygon, was as a Vibrava. Taking a small jog up to the stadium, Raihan glanced around. No sign of Leon, which could mean he had gone ahead to catch up to Gloria and Hop.

“You obviously are just lying your way to get into the Trial! Come back with some proof!” A voice suddenly snapped; someone being shoved outside of the stadium doors. The body hit Raihan, making the Dragon Trainer grunt. Various chirping, hissing, and loud screeching noises could be heard as Noir was all but chewing out the desk attendant. Looking down, you were wincing. Holding your shoulder, and stretching it. Meaning that the attendant had all but grabbed you by the shirt and then some. Before speaking, you looked up meeting Raihan’s gaze. Blinking in surprise that he was even here, you proceeded to point up at him.

“Here’s your damn proof! He’s the Gym Leader who endorsed me!” Snapping back, the desk attendant hesitantly glanced up. Sure enough, Raihan was glaring at this poor worker- standing at his full height, arms crossed. Obviously waiting for an explanation as to why you weren’t even being allowed to participate in the Trial itself.

“R-Raihan! I didn’t… Didn’t know that she was yours.” Gulping, the worker reluctantly opened the door again for the two of you. Noir huffed, landing on your head. When you cautiously walked inside, Noir hissed when you passed him by. Raihan giving you small shoves to walk inside again.

“Wh-when you’re ready to proceed… Just come… Talk to me.” The desk attendant grumbled, taking his now slightly shameful place behind the desk that lead to the entrance of the trial. You hadn’t gotten to the inside of the lobby before you had suddenly been thrown out. This corporation behind the whole challenge thing… Someone _really_ didn’t want you to participate. You on the other hand, hadn’t seen the stadium before. It was large, and open spaced.

Walking up to the desk cautiously, you saw Rei in one of the lobby chairs. Who gave you a polite smile and wave back to your awkward one. Surprisingly other trainers from who you battled before were in the stadium too. Even the nice construction worker who let you sit inside those stupid tunnels for a bit to catch your breath… Where they all here to see you?

“Looks like someone’s caught the attention of the Trainer Core.” He snickered, you stopped just short of the desk. Turning around, Raihan was smirking at you. Seemingly rather pleased. For once, even Noir was hovering slightly next to the Dragon Trainer. Albeit not happy about the whole thing.

“Trainer Core? What’s that?” Asking, you finally dug out your phone to show the Desk Attendant your official Trainer ID. He huffed while looking it over, and registering it into the data base. You glanced up at him, noticing that even though the worker looked rather miffed… There was some sort of tenderness in his eyes. It was rather weird.

“The Trainer Core is the pokemon trainers, regardless of life position, that help in the growth and development of the challenger’s pokemon. That’s why sometimes the trainers you encounter on this journey are somewhat under leveled if _someone_ doesn’t grind. Leon thought it would be a better way for trainers to learn how to battle properly, then grinding in the Wild Area like we did when taking our Trials.” Explaining nonchalantly, Raihan shrugged his shoulders. Indeed, that would explain a lot then as to why random strangers were asking to battle you for… Really what seemed like no reason.

“Well, you’re officially registered… I imagine my less then nice counterpart at Kabu’s Gym didn’t give you a uniform huh.” The worker asked, making you turn to him. Nodding- suddenly you were given a uniform set… But it didn’t quite seem like the others. It was green, and for some reason- matched the uniform that he wore. Right down to the leaf logo… The only thing missing was the number.

“You’re supposed to get these after the Trial… But you can’t participate without some sort of uniform. So here. Get changed and we’ll see you inside. Raihan, I hate to be that person again, but you need to go into the stands or the ground observation deck for Gym Trainers. She needs to do this on her own.” Explaining, you had no idea how to thank him. Even though the desk attendant was obviously a jerk in the beginning.

“Um… Thank you.” You could only bow slightly, the worker feeling rather awkward about the whole thing. But considering that most of the Trainer Core from the earlier Routes were here in the building too… It made his realize that they all thought the same thing of you too.

“Alright, I’ll see you back here. Don’t… Don’t do anything that I would have to fix again.” Patting your head, Raihan began to walk away. Noticing that there was a lingering warmth where his hand had been, you couldn’t help but watch him enter the other door.

“Get changed in that fitting room over there, and I’ll meet you back here to give you the rundown of the Trial.” The desk attendant gestured over to the booth. You nodded, determined to finish this trial. Perhaps… People were a lot kinder than you remember them being. Either that-

Or they were being kind to you because they didn’t want to face Raihan’s wrath.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with a new title this time! This is my first time doing any sort of pokemon fanfic, and hopefully this one will be just as fun to write as my other ones. I know this is a really slow start to the story, but I promise next chapter things will kick up in pace. Thanks for reading as always, and see you on that 'wild dragon side' of a ride!
> 
> -Zavier
> 
> P.S.- Fiance was awesome and got me a 'proper' computer to officially type things on.


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